Flowers for the Dead
by John Tannius
Summary: I've noticed a few other old timers like me putting up all their story fragments here lately and figured to do the same. Mind you not all of these stories are dead but I would like some feedback on which ones to continue. Ranma and Others
1. Ghost

**A not so normal beginning:**

Onna-Ranma turned her head back to Akane and arched her back slightly, "Besides, I've seen myself plenty of times. And I'm better built to boot!"

She started towards her pack, intent on leaving for China to find a cure when the dining table came down heavily on her head, swung by a blue glowing Akane.

"Now that he had coming." Genma said sagely.

Kasumi looked down to check on the poor boy turned girl, "Oh My! Quick Nabiki, call 119! She's not breathing!"

Soon the peaceful evening of Nerima was broken by the sounds of ambulance sirens.

**Chapter One: Not Even Death do us Part**

Akane sat in her room silently staring at her hands. Hands that had killed. She still couldn't believe what had happened. Kasumi had gently turned Ranma over to began mouth to mouth but the way Ranma's head lolled at an odd angle told them it was too late.

Nabiki had convinced the cops it had happened during martial arts practice and they had filed the whole thing as death by training accident. Genma, still in shock, had been led to the nearest bar by Soun to drown their sorrows at the schools not uniting.

Akane continued to stare at her hands. In a moment of anger she had taken a life. Even though she had hit other people harder, especially Kuno at school, no one had ever been seriously hurt. Kasumi had tried to comfort her earlier, telling Akane it was just a freak accident that could have happened to anyone.

Akane knew the truth however. It was her temper that had killed him. No one deserved to die just for making a rude comment. And it hadn't even been that rude. Deep down she knew he hadn't even meant the offhand comment. It was just the kind of thing she might have said herself in a prideful moment.

She Should have known better. She could crush bricks with her bare hands. She could just as easily break someone's arm or leg... or neck.

She broke down in tears of guilt sorrow and remorse. Clutching her pillow tightly she cried until exhaustion claimed her conciousness.

* * *

Ranma shot straight up in a panic from her prone position on the floor.

"She didn't have to hit me so hard." She muttered as she rubbed the back of her head. Looking around she wondered where everyone else was. The dining room was empty. There was also a dark shadowy tint to everything as if the color and light were somehow muted.

Sitting down Ranma pondered her situation, "Must have hit me harder than I thought."

"That would be the understatement of the year." A feminine voice said from the doorway.

Ranma turned in surprise to look at the woman leaning on the doorframe. She was about the same height as her guy side but just as skinny as the girl side. She was only moderately endowed and had a pale whitish cast to her skin. Her eyes and lips had black makeup on them and she was wearing black leather pants with a fishnet top over a black sports bra. Her hair was black and done up in a punk style and she had a silver Ankh pendant around her neck. All in all she looked very goth, yet very cute.

"You a friend of the Tendos?" Ranma asked finding her voice.

"No, not really. Actually I'm here to see you Ranma."

Ranma gulped nervously, "Pops didn't engage me to you or run out on a bill or somthin' did he?"

The lady laughed gently. To Ranma it sounded unearthly beautiful. She found herself not really minding if this lady was her new fiance.

The lady became serious and kind of sad at the same time, "No Ranma, I'm afraid I'm here for another reason. You see, you died when that table hit you and I have come to take care of you. I am death."

Ranma frowned for a moment in deep thought then started looking around, "Ha ha, very funny. One of the Tendos put you up to this didn't they? Is this supposed to scare me off? Look, I don't want to get married any more then they do. I just want to go back to China and cure my curse."

Death shook her head. The strong willed ones always gave her trouble. Not that she really minded, it broke up the monotony and she did enjoy the job for the most part. As death she met so many interesting people. She'd studied Ranma's file and had been pretty impressed with how his life had been up til now and except for one small problem she'd escort him over to the other side and be done with it, just like so many others.

"Look Ranma, I'm not sure what would convince you that you're dead but you need to accept it before we can discuss a problem that has popped up. There's no real hurry though so maybe if we wander around you'll get the idea."

Ranma stood up and looked Death in the eye. She was sure this was some childish prank by Akane. That or this lady was seriously nuts. Either was better than the alternative. Ranma shuddered as if someone had walked across her grave and felt like hitting herself for thinking of it in those terms.

"Let me get some hot water to change back first." She said moving towards the kitchen.

Death shook her head, "Sorry, that won't work anymore."

Ranma smirked, "Right, cause I'm dead huh?"

"Now you're getting the idea." The endless responded.

"Sorry if I don't believe you. 'scuse me." She brushed past and into the kitchen. There was the brief sound of running water then a scream as if a martial artist had been wrapped in fish sausages and tossed into a pit of starving cats.

Ranma was hyperventilating when Death entered the kitchen which she thought was funny considering Ranma no longer needed to breathe.

"I'm Stuck! I can't change back! What did you do to me?!" Ranma screamed.

"Calm down Ranma. You can't change with water anymore because you're no longer cursed. You're dead remember?"

Ranma was now in full panic mode, "I'll be like this forever?! I'm a man! I don't want to be a girl! Girls are weak and emotional!"

Death rubbed her temples with her hands. She could feel a migrane coming on from the stress of the situation, which was saying a lot considering she was the personification for a state of being. She wondered if her brother Dream ever had this much trouble.

"Ranma," She began, "Form is immaterial and irrelevent in the afterlife. Here it's who you are and not what you look like that's important."

"Easy for you to say. You haven't spent the last ten years of your life training to be a man among men!" Ranma said starting to calm down after the intial shock.

Death actually had to agree with Ranma's reasoning, although spending time as a girl would probably do the boy a world of good. Now however was not the time.

"All right Ranma, try this. Picture yourself as a guy in your head and concentrate on the image."

Ranma nodded and closed her eyes. A second later she shifted forms into her male body.

"There, now maybe we can go discuss..." She trailed off.

Ranma wasn't listening. He was dancing around singing, "Never gonna be a girl again." over and over.

Death sighed. This whole thing was taking too much effort, and she hadn't even gotten to the real reason she was here.

"RANMA!" She screamed. He flinched and turned to look at the end of all things given life. "Really, we don't have time for this."

Ranma turned serious, "Look lady, I appreciate whatever ya did to my curse but there's no way I'm dead. If I was, I'd be lyin' somewhere in a coffin of cremated in a jar right? How can I be dead if I'm up walkin' around?"

Frustrated, Death blew a lock of hair out of her face and grabbed Ranma by the hand, "Fine, come on."

She led him outside and into the dojo.

It became apparent where Genma and the Tendos had disappeared to when they entered the dojo. Against the far wall there was a blown up picture of Ranma (Courtesy of Nabiki). On a table surrounded by flowers was a small urn. Genma was sitting sieza in front of the urn. The blank look on his face showed he was still in shock. Soun was crying as was his usual mode of operation. Nabiki and Kasumi both looked sad. Akane however, looked sick. She'd been crying herself to sleep the past couple of nights and hardly ate anymore. Her hair was disheveled and it looked like she hadn't even left her room since the incident.

Ranma took all this in with a smirk, "Man, this is the most anyone's ever gone to for a practical joke on me before. Well, it's over, I'm right here everyone!"

He walked in and up to the makeshift altar, "Oh I see, everyone pretends to ignore me until I start to panic and think I'm really dead then, Surprise! Haha, real funny. C'mon, jokes over Pops" Ranma reached for his father's shoulder only to have his hand pass right through.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Ranma screamed.

Death stood near the back and felt like crying, sometimes these were the hardest cases. So the job had some drawbacks, Sometimes even steeling yourself against emotional attachment didn't help. Death felt as if she had a personal stake in Ranma's well being.

Ranma was slowly descending into a full panic. He tried yelling and screaming. Punches went right through Genma. Finally he did something he never would have before his death, he cried. Sinking to his knees in despair he sobbed uncontrolably, shrinking into his girl form.

Death went over to console the boy, usually a soul's feelings were muted by their demise. She attributed Ranma's reaction to him having had so much life in him that even muted, his emotions would be overwhelming. She reached for her and was surprised when Ranma grabbed her and held on like a drowning man. Death kneeled down and Ranma settled into her embrace, rocking Ranma back and forth gently as she cried.

Finally calming Ranma realized the dojo was empty. The funeral was over. She looked up at the woman holding her.

"It's true?"

Death nodded.

"So now what?" She said as she got up and wiped her eyes, "You taking me to hell? I sure aint good enough to get into heaven. Maybe reincarnation... Never been very religious though."

Death shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid there is something else you must do before you can move on. I'll tell you a secret though," she leaned in conspiratorily, "You go where you feel you deserve to be in your heart."

Ranma seemed thoughtful at that revelation before he remembered what else she had said, "What do you mean something else to do?"

Death sighed and sat down in one of the chairs from the funeral, "Your destiny was interrupted by your death. Normally that's not a big deal. My eldest brother would say something about destiny interferring with destiny or some such. The problem here is that your destiny was tightly intertwined with another's. You cannot move on until destiny is fulfilled."

"So who's destiny am I supposed to help?"

"Akane."

**********


	2. Ranma 21

This piece was inspired by another fic where Ranma was split after being cursed. It damn near handicapped him since he could only control one body well at a time. I went with the idea and decided that since both bodies had a functioning brain they could be independantly controlled even if there was only one Ranma between the two. Gave up on this one simply because I didn't want to go over all the same story yet again in another fic, even if it was a unique twist. Besides, I had moved beyond Ranma Akane Match-ups at this point.

Enjoy!

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Ranma 2/1

Akane sighed and flicked a piece of lint from her blouse. She was walking to school alone once again. Nabiki had left early to oversee the betting pools for Akane's morning fight.

Akane frowned as she thought of the hordes of boys she fought each day. She'd always been a popular girl even before this mess started, except the boys never seemed to notice her before Kuno's stupid proclamation. Not two days after Tatewaki Kuno proclaimed no one could date Akane unless they first bested her in combat, people she'd never even seen before were joining in the morning brawl. Nabiki had tried to explain that it was because they couldn't have her that made them suddenly want her. Forbidden fruit or something like that. It just made Akane even more angry.

She'd tried going to the school's administration but they had dismissed the whole thing. Something about students needing to conform and the nail that sticks up must be pounded down. Some even suggested she just give in and date the Kuno boy. It was later that Nabiki told her that Kuno's father was the principal of the school and had likely threatened the faculty into ignoring Kuno's behavior. It was getting to be that her female classmates had stopped associating with her. Apparently some of the girls were getting jealous of her popularity and had even begun spreading rumors. Everything from sleeping with all the boys she fought to being a closet lesbian.

So Akane kept being attacked and she kept winning despite the odds. It had been a month so far and she was beginning to feel weary of the whole matter. She felt her art degrading with each fight. Maybe she should just pick someone and go out with them. None of the boys that attacked her every morning though she thought. However if she picked someone who couldn't fight then he'd get beat up at first opportunity by either Kuno or the horde. There had to be a way she thought angrily. Other than a couple of men, Akane's view of the opposite gender was headed south and fast.

Akane was shook out of her musings from the noise of a large group of boys charging towards her. Startled, she realized she'd walked all the way to school deep in thought. Deciding to deal with the familiar, she let her anger build as she rushed her attackers.

Even with her battle instincts on full alert she barely noticed two figures approach from behind.

"Out of the way! World class martial artist coming through!" they both said in unison as the jumped over Akane and plowed into the mass of students. In less than three seconds the morning horde was unconscious. The black haired boy turned and took a deep theatrical bow towards Akane while a red headed girl smirked at him. Together they both turned back and ran into the school.

Akane was speechless. Someone had interfered with her morning fight! How dare they! The fact she didn't want the daily battles was beside the point. They were still hers!

It was at that point Kuno made his appearance from behind a nearby tree. He was about to go off on a new rant about love, honor, and destiny. He had even picked a new name, 'blue thunder'. It was much better than shooting star.

Akane never gave him the opportunity. As soon as Kuno's mouth began to move, it was stopped by Akane's fist. She made quick work of the kendoist and hurried into the school. Akane was determined to find out who the hell dared to interfere in her life.

"Class. Today we have two new students who have just returned from a long stay in China. Ranma and Ranko Saotome, please make them feel welcome.

Ranma and Ranko bowed to the class as Akane glared at them. She had calmed a bit but still planned to let them know exactly what she thought of people who interfered in her life. It was then that her earlier thinking came back to her. This new kid Ranma was a pretty good martial artist she realized. Akane decided she'd talk to his sister Ranko at lunch and see just what kind of person Ranma really was. If he wasn't too perverted maybe he could help her with her plan to get Kuno and his goon squad off her back.

At lunchtime Akane found Ranko sitting under a tree as if waiting for something. She had her eyes closed and Akane heard her mutter under her breath as she approached, "geez, what is it with these long lines anyway?"

Akane coughed to get the redhead's attention. Ranko's eyes flew open in surprise. "Oh, hi."

"My name's Akane Tendo. You're in my homeroom class."

The redhead nodded, "Yeah, I'm Ran...ko Saotome. None of those guys managed to hurt you this morning did they?"

Akane was taken aback slightly, "No, they never do. I'm a pretty decent martial artist so I beat them every morning easily."

Ranko's eyebrows arched with a newfound respect for Akane's prowess. If she could take out all those guys by herself every morning she must not be half bad. "I'm sorry for interfering then. Can you tell me why they do that every day?"

Akane sighed, "It's all upper classman Kuno's fault. He's had a crush on me since the beginning of the semester. When I beat him up after the fifth time he refused to take no for an answer, he proclaimed that anyone who wanted to date me had to first defeat me in combat. Suddenly I'm the most popular girl in school. The guys all want me because I'm unatainable and the girls all hate me because the boys are ignoring them."

"Damn, that sucks. Have you tried talking to the school?" Ranko asked. She suddenly winced and felt her ribs, "Ite, watch it you jerk!" she muttered under her breath.

"Are you all right?" Akane asked.

"Uh, Yeah, just a cramp."

"Anyway, the principal is Kuno's father so the school is ignoring the whole thing." Akane sighed, "So you see what my problem is. Although you're probably going to be sharing it soon."

Ranko frowned, not understanding what Akane meant. Akane gestured around and the redhead noticed several groups of boys staring at the two and talking among themselves. Ranko muttered something under her breath.

"What's that?" Akane didn't quite hear her.

"Perverts. The whole lot of them. I swear, I...my brother is probably the only guy I know who doesn't always have sex on the brain." Ranko said with disgust in her voice.

Akane wasn't sure what to think about that. It would be too good to be true to have someone dropped into her lap just after making an idle wish. There had to be a catch.

Deciding to ignore it for the moment, "So you and your brother are martial artists?"

"Yeah, we're two of the best! We've been trainin' on the road for over ten years with my Pop. We just finally came home to live with mom a few months back."

"Wow! You must have traveled to a lot of places." Akane was impressed. She had wished her father had taken her on training trips. But ever since ((**Ryogenzawa**)) her father had decided no more.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders, "It was all right I guess. We saw lots of neat stuff and got to fight all sorts of martial artists." Her eyes seemed to unfocus for a second then she looked at Akane, "Do you want anything to drink?"

Akane looked around. Ranko didn't even have her bento. Maybe she was offering to buy her something from the cafeteria, "Um, ok sure."

"It'll be just a sec, my bro's getting lunch." Ranko answered.

Akane sat in the grass and began to talk to ranko about inconsequential things like the weather or how Ranko liked school (she didn't). Finally after a few minutes Ranma walked up and dropped a bento into Ranko's lap. He held out a container of juice to Akane.

"Here ya go Akane." He said.

"how did you know my name?" Akane asked.

Both Ranma and Ranko seemed to sweat for a second, "Uh, I heard the teacher say your name in class!" He said quickly. Both siblings laughed nervously. It was weird the way they laughed in sync like that.

"Oookay." Akane said hesitantly. Both Saotomes sighed in relief.

"So how did you know I wanted something to drink anyway? Ranko just now asked me." This time Akane knew something was up when both Ranma and Ranko got nervous again.

Finally Ranko spoke up, "We're um...twins. And twins have kind of a psychic connection thing you see." She looked at Akane with hope that she'd buy that.

Akane decided to let it drop for now. They both seemed nice enough, if a little weird.

They talked for a while as they ate lunch. Akane found out the Saotomes practiced Anything Goes Martial arts. Aparently a sister school to her own. She wondered why her father had never mentioned it before. It was strange how the twins would sometimes finish each other's sentences. She was pleased however that Ranma never approached her for a date or even ogled her breasts like so many other boys did. Their talk centered mostly on martial arts and what training they had. Akane realized that the siblings had huge egos, but from what she had seen that morning it was somewhat justified. Ranma was fairly polite, as much as Ranko. As a matter of fact Akane realized before the bell rang ending lunch, both Ranma and Ranko had the exact same speech patterns and inflections. Sometimes they would talk at the same time and it would be like listening in stereo. Except for the difference between male and female voices they were almost identical.

Akane was distracted in her studies the rest of the afternoon. Her thoughts kept drifting to her plan to get rid of Kuno. She'd have to invite Ranko over to her house to feel out her brother. She was already becoming friends with them, and friends helped friends right?

The last bell of the day rang and Akane got up and went to Ranko's desk as she was packing her books to go home.

"Hey Ranko. Would you like to come to my house for dinner? Maybe I could show you our dojo?" Akane asked.

Ranko seemed to think about it for a minute before Ranma ran by and grabbed her pack and left, "Sure let's go!"

Akane looked after the disappearing Ranma and wondered how he knew what was going on. She decided she'd figure it out in time or at least get used to it. She'd never met twins before but had read that they sometimes had some sort of almost psychic connection. The two girls left the school and walked at a leisure pace towards the Tendo dojo.

Meanwhile a pigtailed boy ran across rooftops like something out of an American superhero manga. He quickly arrived home and entered the house. It was a modest two story home bordering on Juban.

"Mom, Pop, I'm home!" He yelled out as he closed the front door behind him.

"Welcome home son." Nodoka Saotome greeted him from the kitchen, "How was your first day at school?"

"Pretty good. We made a new friend today." He said excitedly, "She knows the same style of martial arts I do."

Nodoka came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel, "Really? What's her name? And where's Ranko?"

"Her Name's Akane Tendo and I'm on my way to her house right now."

"Oh no!" The towel dropped from Nodoka's nerveless hands.

Across town Akane noticed Ranko seemed distracted. Her smooth motions sometimes became jerky. "Are you ok Ranko?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Just a little stiff from sitting all day." Ranko responded.

Deciding to leave it, Akane changed subjects, "So is your brother dating anyone?"

Ranko got up off the ground from a rather hard face plant, "Uh, no... I... I mean no he isn't."

"Oh, he seems real nice and polite. I just figured He'd have a girlfriend."

"Eh, Mom's been learnin' us on that politeness and stuff. She's been tryin' to undo stuff Pop's taught us over the last ten years of our training trip. And we aint never had time to find a girlfriend." Ranko finished.

Akane blushed when Ranko said that. *WE?* Ranko didn't even seem aware of what she said. Maybe she was just open about it. Ranko was a lesbian? Things were just getting too weird to deal with. She was suddenly starting to have second thoughts on the whole plan. The twins didn't seem perverted. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue. Yeah, that had to be it.

Ranma got up from his second face fault in the living room and rubbed his neck painfully. His mother looked on with concern.

"Are you all right dear?" She asked.

"Yeah, Just heard sometin' unexpected is all." He said.

"Language dear. Proper pronunciation shows good breeding."

"Sorry Mom. Akane just said something unexpected is all." He sat back down at the table, "So what's up with the Tendos? Anything I should know about before I get there?"

"Yes, your father and Soun Tendo were very good friends many years ago and trained under the same master. It was when I was pregnant with you that I found out your father was attempting to engage you to one of Soun's daughters. I talked them out of it." Nodoka's eyes flickered to her katana hanging on the wall.

"So I could have been engaged to Akane?" Ranma stared wide eyed.

Nodoka nodded, "I'm sure Soun and your father would still like to see their martial arts schools united. Be careful while you're there dear."

"Ok, I'm going upstairs to do my homework then. Let me know when dinner is ok?"

"Ok dear." Nodoka agreed as Ranma ran upstairs.

Akane wondered why Ranko was blushing sligtly and shaking her head, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's just been a long first day. Has your father ever mentioned another school of Anything Goes?"

Akane thought for a moment, "No, he really doesn't talk about his past or the art much anymore. Not since mom died."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ranko said using her hard learned manners.

"It's ok, it happened a long time ago. Oh, here we are." Akane stopped in front of the gates to her home. She opened the gate and the two girls walked up and into the house.

"I'm home!" Akane yelled out.

"Oh, welcome home Akane. Who's your friend?" a tall girl with long hair came from the kitchen.

"This is my new friend Ranko. She just started at school today. I hope you don't mind if she stays for dinner. Ranko this is my oldest sister Kasumi."

Ranko bowed, "Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, so well mannered! We'd be more than happy to have you stay for dinner." Kasumi replied as se turned back to the kitchen.

"Come on, I'll show you the dojo!" Akane said excitedly, happy to have a friend to share her greatest love, martial arts.

Ranko followed hoping to see some of the sister school to the Anything Goes style.

The inside of the dojo was simple and clean, something that Ranko respected. She also noticed the lack of wear that a lot of students would cause. Either the dojo was new or it had not seen a lot of use over the years.

After letting Ranko look around a bit Akane spoke up, "Would you like to spar? It would be nice to see how we match up."

Ranko grinned, "Yeah, it would be nice to train with someone besides Pop."

"Don't you practice with Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Uh, yeah, it's usually us against Father though." Ranko evaded.

"You two must fight really well as a team being twins and all."

"Hehehe, we're getting better."

"You ready?" Akane asked, getting into a basic Kempo stance.

"Sure anytime." Ranko said as she just stood there.

Akane was puzzled, why wasn't Ranko taking a stance? From what she'd seen that morning, she knew Ranko was an excellent martial artist. Maybe she knew something Akane didn't.

With a 'Kyaa!' Akane stepped forward and swung a basic sidekick. Ranko brought up an arm in a casual gesture and blocked it, then winced at the power beind the kick.

"Damn, you have a lot of power behind those blows don't you?" Ranko rubbed her arm where Akane it her.

"Do you want to stop?" Akane asked worriedly.

"No keep going. I've been hit much harder, I just wasn't expecting it from someone as feminine as you." Ranko responed with a slow right punch.

Akane parried the punch with a blush, "I know you're faster than that! Come on, let's fight!"

Ranko increased her speed and power until Akane started to have trouble keeping up. After about five minutes of sparring, Ranko called a halt.

Akane was breating heavily, "You're really good. I could tell you were still holding back."

Ranko grinned, "Well I've been training for three to ten hours a day for the last ten years. You were a little slow and rusty at first but your true form started coming through at the end. Let me guess, no one's trained you in the last few years."

Akane frowned. Usually she got mad when someone insulted her skills but Ranko also complimented her on her acomplishments as well as correctly assessing her training.

"Yeah, father hasn't taught me anything in years. I've been training mainly as a way to keep in shape. Damn it, I'm supposed to be the heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes!" Akane was starting to get angry.

"It doesn't look like anyone has taught here for a while." Ranko admitted.

Akane collected herself and sighed, "Dad hasn't taught since..." She trailed off.

"Oh", Ranko said in sudden realization. "Well, considering all that, you're pretty good. Especially since you beat all those guys every morning. Imagine what you'd be like after some intense training."

"Heh, maybe you can help me out sometime." Akane said, "come on, let's go up to my room." She grabbed Ranko's arm and ran towards the house giving Ranko no say in the matter.

As they entered the house, Ranko noticed a man with a mustache reading the newspaper. He wasn't there earlier she was sure of it.

"Hello Akane, who's your friend?"

Akane stopped and turned to the older man, "This is my new friend Saotome Ranko."

"Did you say Saotome? Tell me girl, is your father's name Genma?" The man practically grabbed her screaming.

Ranko winced, unsure of what to do. She could lie but her mom disapproved of lying. It was bad enough she was keeping a secret from Akane. To tell the truth led to a potential engagement with her new friend.

"Yes." Ranko admitted. She could see the hope light in his eyes and found herself dreading his next question.

"And do you have a brother?" Soun asked expectantly.

Ranko sighed, "Yes, his name is Ranma." She said with a finality of someone hammering the last nail in her coffin. "Uh, come on Akane, you were going to show me your room?"

Soun was positively glowing as he left to find the phone. It was time he talked to his old friend.

"I've never seen Daddy so happy before. Maybe he's happy to know your dad is living nearby again." Akane mused as they walked upstairs.

"I just hope that's all it is." Ranko muttered.

As they reached the top of the stairs, one of the doors down the hallway opened and a shorthaired woman exited. She was wearing a loose tank top with no bra and a pair of tight cut offs. Ranko gulped nervously and blushed looking away quickly.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow as she looked over the flustered redhead. Akane noticed Ranko's reaction as well and it started her wondering again about the girl's sexual orientation.

"Who's your friend?" Nabiki asked looking the girl over.

"This is Ranko Saotome. Her and her brother, Ranma, started school today. I invited Ranko to have dinner with us." Akane responded, "Ranko, this is my sister Nabiki."

"Pleased to meet you. You don't look like a trollish ice bitch to me." Ranko said.

Nabiki frowned, "Really, who told you I was?"

"Ah, some guy in my class. Hiroshi I think." Ranko replied nervously, having realized what she'd said.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes and smiled toothily at Ranko, "And what's your opinion of me?"

Ranko winced under the gaze, feeling like a mouse that's about to be eaten by a cat. And she really hated cats.

"You seem really nice. Pretty too. Nothing like the rumors say!" She said quickly.

"Nabiki! Quit teasing her!" Akane admonished.

"Heh, I think I like you Ranko Saotome." Nabiki laughed as she stepped past the two younger girls, her hand trailing over Ranko's shoulder and down her arm lightly. Ranko shivered at the touch.

Akane stared down after her departed sister, "Don't mind Nabiki. She likes to tease everyone."

Ranko nodded, trying unsuccessfully to rid herself of the memory of physical contact with a pretty woman.

Akane pulled Ranko down the hall to stop in front of a door with a wooden duck plaque hanging from a single nail. Written in romaji was 'Akane'. Akane opened the door and the two girls went in.

Ranko looked around as if she had just stepped on sacred ground. After a moment of string wide eyed around the room she relaxed visibly.

"Huh, so this is a girl's room." She said to herself. She turned to see Akane staring at her strangely. "Uh, I mean this is the first time I've been in another girl's room. I kinda expected more pink. This is almost like my room."


	3. Love Nabiki 12

One of my stranger ideas for a fic. Of course the whole, 'put someone else in Keitaro's place' has been done. But never with Nabiki. I was really into Bleach at the time so I was planning on tossing that into the mix as well as Grenadier since I had just watched the series. This one still has potential and I may work on it if the mood hits.

* * *

Keitaro was having the best, weirdest day of his life. It started when he accidentally bumped into a long brown haired girl on his way to the entrance exams for Tokyo University. When she failed to get back up from her fall, he had nearly panicked, thinking he'd killed her. Kneeling down to check on her, she suddenly sat up, cracking their foreheads together painfully. Both apologized profusely, nearly knocking heads again when they bowed. Realizing their near miss, the couple began laughing.

"You remind me of a boy I knew when I was little. We promised we'd get into Tokyo University together when we grew up," she sighed, "I'm sure he's forgotten all about me by now," she said in a moment of clarity. Whether this was from her knock to the head was unknown.

Keitaro nearly fainted because he'd briefly stopped breathing. "R-r-really... How long ago was this?" he stuttered.

The girl put her finger to her chin in thought for a moment. "I must have been at least fifteen years ago I think. Some old inn we were staying at I think. I'll never forget Kei-kun."

Keitaro couldn't believe it. There she was, right before him. His promise girl! The girl he had struggled for years to meet again and he just happened to literally bump into her?

"That was me! I'm Keitaro Urashima! My grandmother owns the Hinata Inn where you stayed." He was overjoyed. Things were playing out just as he'd always dreamt.

"Kei-kun? I'm uh, my name is... Mutsumi Otohime!" The girl said after a little thought.

Keitaro was too excited to notice the girl's momentary airhead spell and just stared at her in wonder. She was beautiful, everything he could hope for in a woman. She had really big breasts too. Keitaro turned his head away with a blush. It wouldn't do for his promise girl to suddenly think he was a pervert. His eyes caught a sign on the wall directing students to their testing rooms.

"The test! Oh my god, we're going to be late! Otohime-san, can we meet after the test? I'd love to talk to you again."

"Of course Kei-kun. Call me Mutsumi-chan."

The two headed off towards their test room. Coincidentally they had the same room and made it with just seconds to spare.

Keitaro couldn't believe it. Everything was going so well. It would be just like his dream. They meet, get into Tokyo University together. They have lunch together in the quad, and finally a summer wedding after graduation. He slowly shook himself out of his daydream and glanced at the clock.

Panic seized him as he realized that somehow the testing period was almost over! Looking down at his test he saw he was still on the first page! He furiously began to go through the questions. He knew that there was no way he could finish the test in less than twenty minutes. He felt like crying as he began filling in the dots on the test sheet almost randomly. His beautiful dream was crashing down in flames. There was no way his promise girl would want a first year Ronin as her boyfriend let alone fiancée.

The instructor called time and Keitaro quickly filled in the last few bubbles on the test sheet. Quickly signing his name to it, he turned it in.

Mutsumi was having different problems of her own. She had gone through the test quickly enough. After finishing though she realized she had some time left before it was over and let her thoughts drift. She looked over at Keitaro who seemed hard at work on his test and she quietly cheered him on in her head. She was glad to have run into her promise boy. She knew she was forgetful and absent minded and had almost given up when she could no longer remember the boy's name. Like a bolt of lightning however, the knowledge had surfaced when she'd run into him in the hallway.

'I wonder if he still wants to be together when we get into Tokyo U?' she thought, 'Keitaro Urashima,' she mulled the name over in her mind, 'Mutsumi Urashima,' she though with a slight blush to her pale skin. In her daydreaming, she didn't realize that she had written 'Mutsumi Urashima' down in the name place on her test.

Later the two of them were having coffee at a nearby shop. Keitaro couldn't bring himself to tell Mutsumi how badly he thought he must have done and tried to cheer her up. Mutsumi was worried that she had forgotten to put her name on her test and that she'd have to try again the next year.

"Well, Todai is hard to get into. If we fail this year, we'll just keep trying until we finally get in!" Keitaro finally said emphatically.

Mutsumi clapped her hands together and smiled. "We'll keep on trying until we're old and gray!" she said in agreement.

Keitaro saw the image in his head of the two of them all bent and worn with gray hair and wrinkles taking the entrance exam in a classroom filled with young students and shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"Don't worry about it Mutsumi-chan. I'm sure we both did fine," Keitaro lied.

They parted ways after spending the whole day together and promised to meet in front of the university the day they announced the test results. So it was a week later that the two prospective students pushed their way through a huge crowd of people who were all there to see if they were the lucky few to get into the most prestigious university in all of Japan.

Keitaro slowly scanned the board for his student number knowing it wouldn't be there but doing it for Mutsumi's sake. Suddenly his eyes widened in disbelief.

* * *

Elswhere, an American woman named Nancy Rogers cried as her hundred million dollar lottery ticket suddenly spontaneously combusted.

In New York City, thousands of people were late for work as every single light signal in the city suddenly started flashing red.

In Las Vegas, several casinos went bankrupt when almost every patron suffered a winning streak.

Africa began experiencing rain across much of the dry savannah and it was showing no signs of stopping in the near future.

Around the world, flipped coins all landed on their edges.

While no one died, it would come to be known as the day of strange luck.

* * *

"I made it... I made it! Whoo Hoo! I MADE IT!!" Keitaro screamed to the world.

"Congratulations Kei-kun," Mutsumi said cheerfully.

"We're going to Tokyo U. together!" Keitaro leaned in and kissed Mutsumi right on the mouth. She was surprised only for a second before she kissed him back.

"I'm happy for you Kei-kun. Perhaps you can help me get in next year."

Keitaro stopped dead cold. She didn't pass? He who must have a kami looking out for him managed to get in but Mutsumi failed?

"Wait! Didn't you say you think you forgot to put your name on the test?" Keitaro asked.

Mutsumi nodded sadly.

"Well lets go to the office and see if they have it. Maybe there's still something we can do about it."

"Do you think so?" Mutsumi asked.

"It never hurts to try," he responded.

It took some time, but they managed to finally find the testing office and cornered a secretary to look into the problem.

"Oh yes, here it is. The student numbers matched up but we were concerned because the name was different," the secretary said after pulling out a test sheet from the files.

"You wrote down some one else's name?" Keitaro asked confused.

"I-I Don't know," Mutsumi stammered.

"Yup, right here. Mutsumi Urashima," the secretary said holding up the paper.

"Urashima? That's my name!"

The secretary's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's no problem then. She has a passing score here. If you and your wife can bring in a copy of the marriage certificate, she can enroll right away."

There was a sound of two bodies hitting the floor. The secretary giggled to herself. "They must be so relieved that they are able to go to school together after all. Newlyweds are so high-strung these days."

* * *

"Do you have any idea of how much I had to alter probability to get that kid to pass?" an angry voice spoke. Said voice was attached to an attractive dark skinned figure of a woman with white long hair sitting in a chair in what appeared to be a non descript office, "I'll be filing paperwork for years to account for all the luck I had to siphon off to get him to accidentally pass. As far as I'm concerned, we are officially even."

A white bearded figure sat back in his chair behind his desk and steepled his fingers Gendo Ikari style. "That's fine. I apologize for the paperwork but I needed him to get into the school on his first try."

"Why are you so concerned about this guy anyway?"

"Why Urd, I'm surprised at your curiosity. Well not really," he stuck his tongue out at her playfully, "Simply put though, I just fulfilled his destiny a little early to clear the stage for new players of my choosing. I've always wanted to try my hand at one of these 'bet' style universes."

"Whatever," the goddess of the past muttered as she stood up and walked over to a television in the corner, "I'll see you on gaming night, ok Tannius?"

"Sure, don't forget, it's your turn to bring the Mountain Dew."

* * *

Three Years Later:

The woman looked up the steps before her to the inn situated at the top of the hill. Off to the side she could see a small shop with the sign 'Hinata Tea House' above the door. She'd have to check in with Aunt Haruka later. First off was to see Grandma Hina and look into getting a place to live.

Grabbing her suitcase, she quickly ascended the stairs, thankful she'd resumed her training after all those years. She wasn't really that bad off. Her father had made sure that all his daughters were at least black belt level before letting them all pursue their own life goals.

Panting a little as she cleared the last step, she looked around at the old inn. It had been well taken care of from what she could see and even though she had no clear memories of it, she knew her mother had brought her here at least once before her death. She smirked at the sign proclaiming 'Hinata Inn Girl's Dormitory. No Men Allowed!' It looked like Grandma Hina had made good her threat to make the inn unisex. After her Grandma's fight with her Father she should have expected it. Her Father never like her Mom's side of the family especially given his view of women. She thought that was odd considering he had three daughters that he'd raised by himself after Mom died.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the girl brushed her short black hair back behind her ear and slid the door open. Entering the foyer, she looked around before calling out.

"Grandma Hina? It's me, Nabiki Tendo."

There was no response. In fact it was too quiet for what was supposedly a girl's dorm.


	4. Proper Care and Feeding Nabiki Tendo

Ok, this one has Lemon written all over it (well, not yet anyway)...

This was a fun idea that I was really looking forward to writing until it suddenly struck me that I was incapable of writing a Master Slave relationship. It wasn't from lack of experience with women mind you, I had been married and did have a child from the union. I just couldn't wrap my head around the concept of owning a sex slave. I usually give my female characters too much personal power it seems... regardless, this has sat on the hard drive for almost two years now. Maybe one of you readers can either give me some ideas or take the story and make it work.

* * *

She stumbled down the sidewalk blindly. Feeling her way along the wall of a building she moved as quickly as she could, groping her way along. She had to get away, far away. She couldn't let them find her, any of them. Tears threatened to fall but she wouldn't let them. No one must see her cry. She turned a corner and bumped into what felt like a garbage can. She was in an alley. Stumbling, she moved about halfway down the deserted corridor between buildings and slumped to the ground, leaning her back against the wall.

She should never have gone there. She should never have confronted the Amazons without backup.

Unable to take the weight of what had been done to her any longer, Nabiki Tendo broke down sobbing quietly. The scarf wrapped around her eyes became wet with her tears.

* * *

Ranma sat on a rooftop and scowled at the Nekohanten. He was concealed behind a chimney across the street cloaking his aura with umisenken. Shampoo had come by the dojo earlier and told him that her Great Grandmother wanted to talk to her about a possible cure to his curse. That wasn't why he was staking out the place, he had already been there and talked to the old mummy. Cologne had told him that she had a lead on a temple that could remove curses.

Ranma of course had snorted and told her that he wasn't going to marry Shampoo and that she couldn't bribe him.

Cologne had just shaken her head and told him that the only condition for the information, as it was only information and not a cure itself, was to forgive Shampoo for her part in demolishing the Tendo dojo. It had been three weeks since Soun and Genma had attempted to force Ranma and Akane to wed and everyone had been on edge ever since.

Ranma had thought about it and finally agreed. That was why he was now watching the restaurant. Ranma wasn't a stupid person. Naïve, yes, Trusting, yes, but not stupid. He learned from his mistakes, it was how he became so good at the Art after all. Even a complete idiot will stop putting his hand in the fire once he's been burned enough.

The temple in question was one that Ranma had visited a few years ago with his father and he remembered quite clearly that they had nothing to do with curses. Heck, even their good luck charms were mediocre at best. Ranma had let none of this information slip however, keeping his face neutral. The mess with the gambling king and watching Nabiki for a couple of weeks had allowed Ranma to finally perfect his poker face. Of course he still couldn't play poker (let alone old maid) to save his life but not even Ranma was good at everything.

It was a few hours later and Ranma had gotten very bored, to the point of just about giving up and dealing with whatever it was when they sprang it on him, when he noticed Nabiki walking towards the restaurant with a purposeful stride. He watched her walk in the front door and disappear from view.

He contemplated going down to eavesdrop but wasn't sure how sensitive the old Ghoul was to ki. Even with his aura masked, there was the risk of detection from one as experienced at the ancient matriarch.

He sat there trying to figure out his next move for a few minutes when he noticed Nabiki stumble out the front door. A scarf that she'd been wearing, more out of fashion than the weather that had only begun to cool for the fall, was now tied around her head to cover her eyes.

Not seeing anyone coming after her or watching, Ranma decided to follow her a short way before confronting her. He didn't want to risk blowing his concealment and Nabiki didn't 'appear' wounded.

When she turned a corner into an alley and nearly fell over a garbage can, Ranma began to move stealthily. When he reached the alley he found Nabiki curled up against the wall crying quietly.

* * *

Nabiki felt lost and hopeless. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking for her or ran into her. With her luck it would be one of the many people who she had blackmailed or won money from. She had few friends and many people in Nerima would love to take advantage of her current condition.

It would only be a matter of time before she looked at someone, even by accident, then it would all be over for her. She wracked her brain, trying desperately to think of a way out, anything that could save her from a fate worse than death. Ranma's experience with the love pill bracelet at the beach last summer told Nabiki that fate would work against her the more she tried to fight it. The thought of Akane or Kasumi finding her made her uncomfortable and the thought of Genma or her father being the one made her downright ill.

She briefly thought about Him. He was honorable and wouldn't take advantage of her. But no, he hated her just like all the other people she'd manipulated. If not him, then who? Kuno? *Shudder* Ryouga? Maybe, but she'd never find him in time.

Despair was setting in and tears were plentiful. She was about to just give up and find the first person on the street and be done with it when a voice intruded from in front of her.

"Nabiki? Are you all right?"

* * *

Ranma wasn't sure what to do. Whenever a girl cried he felt a nervous sense of hopelessness. It didn't help that this was Nabiki. She was someone whose emotions were embedded in pure ice. She was always in control no matter what. Seeing her like this had Ranma a little panicky.

He could see her aura clearly, something he usually had trouble with on her. She was a writhing mixture of despair, anger, and fear. Ranma needed to find out what happened. Obviously the Amazons had done something and though they may never really get along, Ranma considered Nabiki to be family. If the Amazons had hurt his family then he'd have to show them why gods now tread carefully around him.

"Nabiki? Are you all right?" he asked.

Nabiki stiffened and her head shot up. Ranma could clearly see the wet spots on the scarf from her tears. There was no blood so she wasn't obviously wounded but that meant little where the old mummy was concerned. What Ranma did notice however was Nabiki's aura shifting. The fear grew, but there was also... Hope?

He could see her attempting to put her mask back in place. That look of cool indifference she always exhibited. The effect was ruined by the tear streaks on her cheeks.

"Ranma. What are you doing here?"

* * *

"I could ask you the same thing." Nabiki heard Ranma say.

Had he followed her? Was he somehow in on what the matriarch had done to her? If their roles were reversed, this was the kind of thing she might do to get revenge on someone.

They were both quiet for a moment before Ranma spoke again.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Nabiki gulped. Maybe he could help her. He could be the one. For all his faults, Nabiki knew she could trust Ranma if he gave his word. He would take care of her, help her find a cure. If not, well, there were worse people out there. Hikaru Gosunkugi for example.

Trying to calm herself as much as possible, Nabiki took a deep breath.

"As you know Ranma, I've been delivering bills to all the people responsible for destroying the dojo three weeks ago." She paused. Hearing nothing from Ranma she continued on.

"The last time I saw Shampoo, I told her to let her Great Grandmother know I was coming today and why. They were the last ones to get a bill from me and I was holding Shampoo responsible for most of the damage since she was the one that tore down the east wall. When I got there I confronted Cologne and handed her the bill for damages. She took one look at it and refused. I made some offhand comment about calls to the health inspectors or immigration to change her mind. All she did was narrow her eyes at me and say that the dojo wouldn't have been damaged if my family had just turned you over to them months ago when Shampoo showed up. I told her it was a matter of honor that you married a Tendo. Then she said that the only honor that mattered was the Amazon's and that she was done speaking to me on the subject."

Nabiki paused to take a breath and realized she felt calmer talking to Ranma. Was this how Akane felt when she was rescued? Probably not.

"Anyway, I started to object when she gave me a harsh look and pulled out a small ruby like gem. 'do you know what this is?' she asked me. I told her I didn't and was about to ask her what that had to do with anything when she continued talking. She called it a 'soul gem'. She said it was a lot like the love pills from that bracelet we had problems with back at the beach. Said it bonded the victim to the first person they see... that they would become a complete and willing slave to that person. She told me it was permanent... right before she... touched it to my forehead."

"Oh Nabs..." she heard Ranma say softly under his breath. The sorrow and affection in that soft whisper sent her hopes soaring.

"She allowed me to cover my eyes and before she kicked me out onto the street told me that they had been planning to use the gem on Akane and bond her to Ryouga but that I made just as convenient a test subject."

A sudden thought occurred to her. "Ranma, from they way they said it, I think they're planning to use another one on you."

She heard Ranma curse for a moment. Then he asked her something she wasn't expecting.

"So, um... is there anyone, ah, you know... that you had in mind if we can't remove it?" he stammered.

That brought Nabiki back to her current dilemma and she started to cry again. There was no one she knew who liked her that wasn't family or wouldn't take advantage of a Slave Nabiki.

"Ah, come on Nabs. Don't cry. We'll get you through this somehow. I'm sure the old Ghoul knows a cure, no matter what she told you. Or doc Tofu may know something."

Nabiki sniffed and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her jacket. That was Ranma all right. Always willing to help with no thought to himself. Akane had no idea what she was giving up by continually pushing Ranma away. She decided then to take the opportunity as it presented itself.

"Ranma? There is someone who can help me. Someone I know who wont take advantage of me until we can find a way to undo the effects of the gem."

"Really? Who? I'll take you to him."

Nabiki gathered her courage. "It's you Ranma. Promise me you'll help me. Please?" she begged.

* * *

Ranma knew it was serious. Nabiki never begged. Ever. Well, at least not seriously. But he knew it was serious because he could see in her aura the fear of rejection as well as her hope resting on his next words. Knowing that Akane was going to have piglets over this whole fiasco he set his course and plunged ahead anyway. After all, Akane would eventually understand that he was only doing this to help Nabiki. Besides it might be fun to have Nabiki as a slave for a while, just to get a little even for all the photos and schemes she'd pulled. Nothing bad or demeaning, Ranma wasn't that kind of person. Maybe he could make her find a way out of this whole fiancé mess or maybe she could do his homework for a week.

"Yeah, I promise to help Nabs. Anyway I can." Ranma finally said.

"I'll hold you to your promise. I also want to apologize." Nabiki responded.

"Hmm? What for?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki untied the scarf and lowered it from her face. Ranma could now see the soul gem embedded in the third eye chakra on her forehead. Nabiki held her head up and opened her eyes, looking directly at Ranma.

* * *

Nabiki gasped as she felt a wave of pleasure pulse through her body due to the bonding taking affect. Again, another pulse as Ranma's face was imprinted on her very soul. A third pulse caused her to orgasm as she realized she'd do anything, be anything for her master. A second orgasm, he owned her completely. Her life was his from this moment on for eternity.

* * *

Ranma saw Nabiki's body jerk as soon as she made eye contact. The red gem began to glow brightly as her eyes lost focus. Her body shivered again and she screamed Ranma's name in orgasmic ecstasy. He blushed in response. The glow of the gem faded leaving a stylized black stallion rearing up inside the stone.

Nabiki collapsed as the magic finished its job. As she came back to her senses, she began to sob again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Master. I manipulated you again when you promised." Nabiki sobbed.

Ranma was a little confused. He felt something had happened. Nabiki's emotions were clearer now as if he could actually feel what she was feeling. She was afraid, afraid of being punished but also excited, for the same reason. Ranma had a sinking feeling this slave thing was going to be more than just her doing whatever he said for a while.

Feeling more than a little uncomfortable about the whole situation Ranma hesitantly asked, "What didn't you tell me Nabiki?"

She looked up at him with tears in her love struck eyes. "Cologne told me one last thing about the Gem, Master. Now that I've bonded to you, we must make love within twenty four hours or I'll die."

* * *

To say Ranma was shocked was a bit of an understatement. He really hoped he'd heard wrong so he tried to play it off.

"Uh, yeah, of course I L-l-l-l um, care a lot for you. You're family right?" he said, chuckling nervously.

"No Master, you must have sex with me to save my life. I am sorry." Nabiki said while prostrating herself before her new lord.

Ranma blew out a large sigh before responding. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid you said. Man, Akane's not gonna have piglets, she'll be havin' full grown sumo pigs over this one. (Somewhere Ryouga sneezed) Hey, lets get you over to Doc Tofu's. Maybe he can take that thing off your forehead."

Nabiki nodded. "Of course Master. Whatever you think is best."

Ranma took Nabiki's hand and helped her up. "Maybe you should just call me Ranma. At least in public. That 'Master' talk is kinda creepin' me out."

"Yes Ma-, I mean yes Ranma-sama." Nabiki said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Ranma shook his head, glad there was still some of the real Nabiki showing through.

* * *

Dr. Tofu frowned in thought as he traced the ki paths in Nabiki's body. Nabiki had insisted that Ranma stay for the examination as he was currently blushing hotly with his face turned away. Nabiki was stripped down to her bra and panties to better allow the doctor to examine her.

"I'm sorry you two but I've never heard of this Soul-Gem before." He returned his gaze to the stone on Nabiki's head. "We could try to take it off surgically but there are a lot of ki paths intersecting on the third eye chakra there. The fact that I can feel it resonating with Ranma's ki as well tells me taking it off by force might be a bad thing. Also the fact that there seems to be a buildup of ki energy directly over your uterus lends credence to Cologne's warning about the time limit on completing the bonding. I'm sorry I can't give you more definite answers."

"That's all right Tofu-sensei. I'm sure everything will work out fine." Nabiki said cheerfully. She was positive that her master would save her. He was just that kind of noble person that made her decide to choose him in the first place.

"Of course you realize that ethically I can't advise or endorse premarital sex as your doctor but if you need any I have condoms that I'm allowed to give out to my patients."

Nabiki shook her head negative. "I don't think that will work. I believe any kind of barrier would interrupt the process. We're going to have to have unprotected sex I'm afraid."

That apparently was the straw that broke the camel's back as Ranma escaped finally into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness.

"I see he's taking this rather well." Tofu joked nervously.

"My Master has always been a little shy when it comes to physical affection. His father's fault undoubtedly."

Tofu looked concernedly at Nabiki. "How are you doing really?"

Nabiki looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "If you mean the whole master/slave thing, I accept him completely and unreservedly. I would do absolutely anything and everything he asked me to. No questions asked. As for everything else? I believe I'm still me, only time will tell."

The doctor nodded. "It's a good thing Ranma found you then. I'd hate to think what would have happened if someone less honorable had gotten to you first."

Nabiki blushed. "That was one of the reasons I decided on my Master when the opportunity arose."

* * *

Nabiki and a revived Ranma trudged home together. Ranma was not looking forward to the confrontation he knew was coming. Akane would blame him, Soun would go into the demon head about hurting his little girl, his father would start in about how dishonorable his son was and that he should marry Akane right now to make up for it. At least Kasumi wouldn't make a big deal about it, he hoped. Then of course there were the other fiancés, Ukyou would blame Nabiki and at the least threaten her. And Shampoo... the Amazons would have to be dealt with. Ranma had thought about confronting them and demanding a cure or antidote for what they had done to Nabiki but after analyzing everything from a tactical view, he realized now why Cologne had tried to get him out of town. She had hoped with Ranma gone the two Amazon warriors could use the first gem on Akane. With her out of the way and with Ranma dealing with the betrayal of his fiancé, they would attempt to use a second gem on him thus binding him to Shampoo like Nabiki was to him. The fact they used it on Nabiki first instead of Akane was just a matter of convenience to get rid of the Tendo bill collector.

The seriousness of Nabiki's situation was beyond the usual harmless mischief that Shampoo usually caused with her drugs and potions. This wasn't a game and the Amazons were no longer to be trusted. There was only one other person that Ranma needed to talk to before he even thought about giving into Nabiki. Briefly Ranma wondered just who was the master in this new relationship with the mercenary Tendo. Never mind, Happosai might have some answers if he didn't just congratulate him on his conquest and go off on another panty raid.

"It would be just like the pervert. His fondest wish come true." Ranma mumbled.

"Did you say something Master?" Nabiki asked. There was no one around so she felt safe to call him by his proper title.

"Ah, nothing, don't worry about it. Oh look, we're home!" Ranma evaded.

Understanding Ranma's nervousness, Nabiki tried to alleviate his worry. "Do not worry, I will do my best to help explain things."

Ranma was still unnerved by a Nabiki who didn't demand money and worshiped him as if he were Kami-sama himself. But he nodded silently hoping everything would be over soon, for better or worse.

Taking a moment, Ranma cleared his mind before opening the front door, letting Nabiki and himself inside. He could hear sounds of someone, Kasumi most likely, in the kitchen. A loud 'Kiya' from the direction of the dojo told him where Akane was. At least with her out there Ranma would be able to talk to Happosai first.

The two teens entered the family room to see Soun and Genma at their never-ending game of cheat shogi. As luck would have it, Happosai was currently ironing the results of his latest raid.

"Yo, old perv, I need to talk to ya." Ranma demanded.

Happosai looked up at his star pupil and heir to the Anything Goes School. "Ah Ranma my boy!" It looked like he was going to say something else before his eyes came to rest on Nabiki. His happy expression immediately turned sour and he nodded seriously.

"Yes, let's talk Ranma." And he turned and led Ranma out the back door facing the pond.

Ranma turned and gave Nabiki a look that said he'd be right back before following the ancient master. Nabiki only nodded and sat down to wait. She started going over various ways to break the news of her enslavement to the family. She chuckled as a thought occurred to her. Kuno was finally right, Ranma was now an enslaver of women. At least he wasn't vile...

Soun and Genma had paid attention to the exchange between Ranma and the dreaded master of their school. When Nabiki sat down and began laughing to herself, they knew something was up. But short of eavesdropping on the master, or paying Nabiki, neither being an acceptable prospect, they would just have to wait and see.

Ranma followed Happosai outside and up to the roof. There, Happosai took a few puffs from his pipe before turning to face Ranma.

"Because you are a student of my school as well as a good kid overall, I will give you a chance to explain why you've used a soul gem on Nabiki before I kill you." He said with the utmost seriousness.

Ranma was stunned. This wasn't anything like what he was expecting from the old lecher. So it was understandable that it took Ranma a moment to find his voice.

"Kill me? What the hell are you talkin' about old man? This is somethin' I thought you'd do if you had the chance."

"I may be many things Ranma, but I would never, never, strip away some one's will. To force them to become mere property, a slave."

"Wait a minute! What about those damn pills that got you stuck to me that one time?"

Happosai smirked. "That was a test. Besides, at no time did I bind your soul to mine. You still had very much your free will. But we are off the subject. Explain your actions."

Ranma sat down with a heavy sigh. "It's all the damn Amazon's fault." He began. Ranma told Happosai of how Cologne had tried to get him out of town, how he had seen through her ruse, then of how Nabiki had gotten herself trapped in the old ghoul's machinations.

Happosai slumped down and seemed deep in though as he packed his pipe and re-lit it with a flash of ki. "I will verify this for myself of course. If you're telling the truth, and even with your new poker face I can tell whether you are or not, then that means Ko-chan has gone too far this time. We'll have to deal with her soon. In the meantime, have you consummated your new relationship with Nabiki yet?"

Ranma had only a vague idea what that meant but shook his head no anyway.

"Then you'd better sleep with her soon. What she told you was the truth, though I doubt she could lie to you at all anymore anyway."

Ranma stood up, his gaze turning towards the dojo where he could still hear Akane working out. "What about a cure?"

Happosai actually affected a genuine sorrowful expression before speaking, "I'm sorry son, what's happened to you and Nabiki has made you closer than most soul-mates. Hell, you're so closely bonded there's a good chance you'll both be reincarnated into the same body in your next life. There's no way to undo it, it was too late as soon as the gem was placed on her forehead. Just take good care of her. She may be a greedy mercenary, but she is my great great great granddaughter." With that, Happosai hopped off the roof and back to his ironing.

Ranma stared at where the old lecher had been for a moment before he shook his head. "There was no way that perv ever had any kids." He said to himself before following.

* * *

Nabiki was sitting at the table still when Ranma came back in. the pig tailed boy glanced at the two fathers before motioning with his eyes for Nabiki to follow him towards the stairs. After the teens left, Soun and Genma moved to follow them but were stopped by a harsh look from Happosai. Deciding it was none of their business the two resumed their game.

Upstairs, Ranma and Nabiki entered the middle Tendo daughter's room. Shutting the door, Ranma slumped against it and sighed.

"I'm sorry Nabs, Happosai says its permanent. Heh, he threatened to kill me before I told him it was the old ghoul's fault."

"It's ok Master. I'm happy to be here for you no matter what." Nabiki said.

"That's just the gem talking. The Nabiki I know would have charged me for just being in her room."

Nabiki shrugged. "Would it make you feel any better Master if I told you that I had had feelings for you before the Amazon's did this to me? I just never told you because you already had so many girls after you that I didn't want to be hurt."

Ranma's eyes widened at Nabiki's revelation. "You're not just saying that because of the gem are you?"

"No Master, I couldn't lie to you unless you specifically ordered me to. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

Ranma slid to the floor and banged his head against the door. "This is all happening too fast. What am I going to do about Akane? Geez, Ukyou will probably try to kill you for stealing me away."

Nabiki frowned a bit before responding. "You don't have to give them up Master. I am only your slave, property. The only problem I see you having is convincing Ukyou or my sister to accept me."

Ranma closed his eyes and was silent for a while as he thought. "My mother would probably love the idea. That doesn't make it right. When I agreed to help you, I made a promise. And as much as I don't like the idea of being forced into it, I also promised myself that I would only sleep with the woman I was going to marry." He finally said.

Nabiki looked at Ranma with confusion and hope and not a little lust burning in her aura. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

Opening his eyes, Ranma gave her one of his heart melting smiles. "Congratulations, you just won the fiancé war."

Ranma didn't even see Nabiki move as she was suddenly in his arms giving him a bone-crushing hug and weeping freely.

* * *

Cologne stirred a boiling pot of ramen when she felt a sudden chill. She glanced out into the dining area to see Shampoo serving customers before turning her attention back to her cooking. She would have to go check up on the Tendo girl to see the full effects of the soul-gem tomorrow. If all went well, she would be able to use the other on son-in-law as soon as he returned and they could finally end this fiasco and go back to China. Not only would they have a prime breeding stud for the village, he would do whatever Shampoo told him, and she controlled Shampoo. With the power of the Saotome boy and his descendants at her beck and call the Musk could finally be defeated, maybe even the PRC army. Cologne laughed to herself as thoughts of conquering all of China floated through her head.

* * *

Nabiki was snuggled up in her Master's lap with her head resting on his chest. He was idly stroking her hair. It had taken a few minutes but Ranma had finally relaxed and had begun to comfort the poor girl. He could feel the love she had for him pouring off her in waves. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before but figured Nabiki was no longer trying to hide it. That and their new connection gave him a better understanding of her emotional state.

The question in his mind though was, 'did he love her?' Sure he liked her, respected her for her abilities and mental aptitude, but love her like a husband loves a wife? He didn't think so, not yet anyway. But he had a responsibility to her, one that affected his personal honor. He was a little miffed that she had manipulated him to be her master but he had promised to take care of her no matter what, and any promises made by his father on his behalf were pale shadows when compared to that. As far as Ranma was concerned, his personal honor was the only real honor he had left.

His thoughts drifted to Akane. He had to admit his feelings were kind of the same in regards to the tomboy. He cared for her, she was family that he'd never had. But he didn't feel for her the way he thought he should if he was going to marry her. She was the annoying sister that you loved to hang with and loved to tease. Of course he had long ago accepted that he would have to marry one of the many fiancés his father had set up for him whether he loved them or not. So while he wasn't too happy about Nabiki being the one he was to marry, he figured he could do much worse. Bonded as she was, Nabiki would never drug him or try to manipulate him for her own ends and he could try to let her live her life as normally as possible within the limits of her bondage. After a while he may even come to love her for real. Akane however would not be happy. Unfortunately, there was no way to really break the news softly to her. Akane would most likely mallet Ranma immediately then turn on Nabiki for attempting to steal her fiancé. A fiancé that she claimed time and time again that she didn't want.

Ranma sighed heavily. He'd never understand women.

Nabiki stirred in his lap. "Is something wrong Master?"

"Just trying to come up with something to tell Akane. Any ideas?"

"It might be a good idea to tell everyone together starting with what the soul-gem actually does before letting them know that you are the one who became my Master. As long as we stress how bad things could have been and place the blame on the Amazons where it belongs, it might not be so bad. I just hope Akane doesn't harm you any by malletting you away." Nabiki shivered in Ranma's embrace.

"Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere tonight... uh, except, you know."

Nabiki giggled, something Ranma didn't think he'd ever get used to but enjoyed regardless.

"I will take care of you Master. I know this will be your first, mine as well, but I will take care of you I promise."

Ranma gulped and nodded. They heard the backdoor downstairs slam and the sounds of somebody stomping down the hall towards the furo meant Akane had finished her workout and was going to clean up.

"We should do this before dinner." Ranma said as he helped Nabiki to her feet.

"What will we tell them?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma smirked, "A half truth is more convincing than an outright lie. We should tell them about the gem and the Amazons but not the soul bond thing, at least at first. We can explain that it's like the love pills only permanent and that's why we have to shift the engagement, for the sake of honor."

Nabiki looked at her Master with awe. "I'm Impressed Master, where did you learn to be so devious?"

"From you of course. I observe more than just martial arts you know," Ranma retorted.

As the two left the room, neither realized they were walking hand in hand.


	5. Lost Shingami

Anime Crossovers are probably my favorite simply because you can take characters from complete unrelated series and with the proper twist make them work in ways never imagined. Take for example, Ranma, Bleach, Sailor Moon, Love Hina, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tenchi Muyo, and several others mixed in this Sliders ripoff of three people from different realities trying to get home.

* * *

Lost Shingami

It was a bright sunny day on the streets of Tokyo3 when the gate appeared. It rose from the ground looking for all the world like it was carved from black basalt. Bas-reliefs of demons warring with angels covered the tall columns flanking the rough hewn wooden doors. Slowly the gate opened flooding the immediate area with red-tinged shadows. Three figures appeared from the enveloping mists through the gate to stand on the empty street. With a resounding thud, the doors crashed shut and the gate faded away.

The tallest figure a young Asian man dressed in a black silk shirt and pants, dark haired with a long pigtail, turned to the taller of his two female companions. "So, any ideas on where we are?"

The woman in question brushed her blue bangs out of her eyes and opened her small palmtop computer. She was dressed in a modest blue turtleneck sweater with form fitting black slacks. After a few moments of scanning the area in a manner that was reminiscent of Spock from Star Trek, she closed the pink case of the computer and shook her head.

"We're in Japan on Earth Ranma, but this isn't any of our homes," She looked at a nearby billboard ad, "At least the people here look like us so I think we're getting closer."

Ranma snorted. "Yeah those guys we first met thought we were all aliens or something. They were the weird ones, with their small slanty eyes and darker skin."

"We were the aliens there you dummy. It was their home dimension, we were the outsiders," the blue-haired girl argued.

"Were never going to get home are we?" the smallest of the three cried. She wore a bright yellow sundress but you could see just a hint of bicycling shorts beneath the hemline.

Ranma knelt down to comfort the shorter girl. "Don't worry Shinobu. We'll get you home eventually. After all I promised, and Ranma Saotome doesn't break his word, right Ami?" he said the last looking up at the senshi of Mercury.

"Uh, right," she said after a minute, "We'll get there eventually, what with my computer and Ranma's Spirit Gates. Just be patient a little while longer ok?"

Ranma stood up and rotated his shoulders in a wide stretch. "We should find a place to stay for the time being. It will take me a while to build up enough reiatsu to open another gate."

There were nods of agreement from the two women and they all turned to take stock of their surroundings.

"Where is everybody? Did we scare them away?" Shinobu asked fearfully. She hated using the Spirit Gates, they were just too scary.

Ami opened her computer again and began another scan while Ranma simply closed his eyes.

"There's a large concentration of people underground. It seems that they are in some sort of fallout shelter or underground complex. I really hope we didn't just arrive in time to witness a nuclear war," Ami said.

Ranma nodded in agreement. "Something big is coming. There!" he pointed towards the nearby foothills surrounding the city, "What ever it is has a strange but familiar lifeforce."

"Is it a hollow?" Shinobu asked timidly.

Ranma shook his head. "No, the energy is different. I'd say it's at least as large as a Menos Grande though possibly even an Arrancar. We should get to shelter as well."

The three raced through the streets, looking for anything that could lead to an underground shelter. Ami was confused, why build shelters at all if there are no signs to direct people to them?

Finally they found a tunnel that lead through a larger hill. It wasn't enclosed but it was better than nothing. It did give Ranma a decent view of the hills on the other side of town though. They felt more than heard the sounds of explosions in the distance. As the sound of combat grew closer, they saw some sort of VTOL fighter planes shooting at something behind the nearest hill. Some sort of light shot out and destroyed one of the planes. That's when they saw it.

It stood over a hundred feet tall with pitch black skin. It had white bonelike protrusions over its body and a red jewel-like sphere set in its chest. What scared them all though, was the ceramic looking skull mask on its head.

"It is a hollow," Ranma whispered.

Ami was typing away furiously on the mercury computer. "Maybe, maybe not. It seems to be composed of highly charged spirit particles but it doesn't register as a hollow on the scanners. There's also that jewel where the hole in its chest should be. Ranma don't do anything stupid," she warned, "The military is obviously dealing with it."

Shinobu grabbed Ranma tightly, both for support and to keep him from running off to fight the thing.

They watched as the military threw everything they had at the creature to no effect. Ranma was about to jump in to the fray regardless when a building suddenly split open in the middle of town to release a giant purple monster. It was humanoid with disproportionately long arms and covered in heavy armored plates. The new creature body slammed the pseudo-hollow away from a couple of people in a blue sports car. The car sped off away from the battle. Unfortunately the purple creature was distracted ensuring the car got away safely that it was hit hard enough to send it through several buildings. It didn't seem too damaged to Ranma but it seemed to be moving sluggishly. It crawled to a clear area of the road and suddenly dropped as an elevator took it below ground.

"What was that purple thing? It felt alive somehow," Ranma asked.

Ami shrugged. "None of the scans show anything conclusive. I'd need more time. What the hell have we walked into Ranma?" she asked worriedly as she began hacking the encrypted radio traffic to try and find out what was going on.

"I dunno. I hope it's not too bad, we won't be able to leave for at least a couple of weeks." He patted Shinobu's back to reassure the timid girl with his presence. She sniffed softly and put on a brave face.

"Ranma! We need to close the mouth of this tunnel quickly! They're dropping a nuke!" Ami screamed, standing as she grabbed Shinobu and pulling her towards the other end of the tunnel.

Ranma frowned and waited until the two were far enough away before launching a Moko Takibashi at the entrance. The energy exploded around the concrete causing the whole entrance to crumble in on itself, and fuse the dirt and rock. He then ran to the two girls and covered them in a ki shield. Even with all the dirt to absorb the radiation, enough excess could get through to make them sick.

He felt the sudden release of energy at the same time Ami's computer began beeping wildly. Then the whole world shook as the shockwave passed over the area.

Everything was deathly quiet for a while. Only the sounds of their breathing and hearts pounding loudly in their chests could be heard. Shinobu broke the silence with a sniffle and Ranma and Ami both embraced the girl in a hug.

"We're fine now. You know we'd never let anything happen to you right?" Ami reassured.

Shinobu looked up with tear filled eyes and nodded. Her trembling lip betrayed her though and the two older travelers just held and comforted the scared fourteen year old girl.

After a few moments Shinobu had calmed enough that Ami could get back to her computer. "Heh, magically sealed against EMP," she said proudly. Ranma just smirked at her.

After some typing Ami announced, "Ok, the good news is that the nuke was very clean, half-life measured in minutes. We should be able to leave here in another twenty. The bad news is that they barely scratched that thing out there. It seems to be regenerating at an ungodly pace. The military is pulling out. Something called Nerv is taking over. I assume it has something to do with that purple monster from earlier. Damn, the hollow or whatever, they're calling it an angel, is moving again and heading straight for the center of the city."

"I gotta go stop it," Ranma said as he stood up with a look of determination on his face.

"Just because it looks like a hollow doesn't mean it is. The military can obviously see it so it isn't just a spirit," Ami shouted.

"I don't care what it is. People are going to get hurt if I do nothing. I promised... I promised Akane I'd never let it happen again."

Ami looked at Ranma's guilt ridden eyes and bowed her head. "Be careful. We can't get home without you."

"Don't worry, Ranma Saotome doesn't lose... not anymore."

He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small green pill. Quickly swallowing it, Ranma's body shrank into his cute busty red-head side with his male side shooting out the back dressed in black robes.

"Take care of them Ranko!" Ranma shouted as he ran out the open end of the tunnel.

The mod soul, Ranko grinned at the two women cheerfully. "So, who's up for some strip poker?"

Both girls groaned at the girl's lecherousness.

Ranma ran, jump-stepping quickly over the roofs of buildings, his Zapukto flashing darkly under the sunlight. Even jump-stepping, it took Ranma nearly twenty minutes to catch up with the angel. Deciding to end things quickly, he jumped at the angel, literally flying towards its head. Before he could even come close though, he impacted an invisible barrier. Rebounding off with his feet, Ranma landed on a nearby skyscraper. The force field felt familiar to Ranma, something like the field that had surrounded the Soul Society back home.

Well if physical attacks didn't work, then he'd have to try energy. He powered up a full Moko Takabishi and shot it towards the creature. The ball of energy went right through the field as if it wasn't even there and impacted the angel's shoulder leaving a small burn that quickly healed. Unfortunately for Ranma, the attack also got the angel's attention. The behemoth turned towards the shingami and its eye sockets pulsed red. The building Ranma was standing on quickly erupted in a ball of flame. He barely had an instant to jump to the next skyscraper.

It was time to stop messing around. "**Kagami no kon reflect!**" he shouted as his zapakuto's blade elongated to about six feet and widened to nearly two feet. The mirror finish of the blade reflected the angel's blank gaze.

Again the eyes pulsed red. This time however the explosions appeared on the angel, tearing great chunks of flesh from its body.

"My blade, Mirrored Soul, reflects attacks back double at the attacker. Not that you seem to care," Ranma explained, mostly to himself.

Meanwhile inside the geofront under Tokyo3 Misato felt like pulling her hair. First it turns out that the whiney son of the commander was to be the new pilot of Unit 01 now some unknown force was attacking the angel. The Magi sensors were picking up an energy field but nothing was showing on the monitors. Shinji complaining about the smell of the LCL fluid snapped her out of her funk. "Stop complaining! You're a boy aren't you?" Even she had no idea what the hell that was supposed to mean but it shut the boy up.

"Incredible! His synch ratio is over twenty three percent!" Dr. Akagi swore.

"That's good right?" she received a nod from Ritsuko, "Eva 01 launch!" Misato yelled as the purple artificial human shot up the express elevator like a rocket.

"Ok, Shinji, I just want you to concentrate on walking. Visualize walking in your mind and the Eva will take care of the rest," Dr. Akagi said.

Ranma and the angel both turned as a building shot up out of the ground then slid open to reveal the purple monster Ranma had seen earlier. It looked like these Nerv guys were finally getting their act together.

The giant robot took one step forward... and fell flat on its face. Ranma turned to see the angel also sported a large sweatdrop at the sight. Ranma jumped back a few buildings once the purple robot got back up. It was likely that it had been designed to specifically fight the angel so he wouldn't jump in until he was needed.

Unit 01 charged recklessly towards the angel. What followed was one of the most one sided brawls Ranma had ever witnessed. Whoever was piloting the robot had absolutely no skill in hand to hand combat, tactics, or even self preservation. The angel quickly broke the robot's left arm, then using an energy spike of some sort began ramming it into the eye socket of Unit 01. When the robot was pushed back against the building it had come out of spewing blood and gore from its ruined eye, he knew it was time to act.

"**Kagami no kon, Bankai!**" He shouted loudly.

His sword faded from sight as sixteen concave mirrors appeared around the angel. A bright point of light appeared over the angel turning the early evening into brighter than the day at noon. In a flash the light shot to the mirrors and concentrated all on the angel at one point. The angel began to glow until it too was emitting solar level light. Then the light began to fade. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, Ranma was pleased to see the angel was nowhere to be found, just a pile of ash blowing away in the gentle wind.

"**WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?**" Misato yelled, "Did Shinji do that?"

"Negative Major. That unknown energy field flared suddenly. The light overwhelmed all the recording devices. All we know for sure is that the pattern blue is gone." Maya said timidly.

"This does not go according to the plan," Fuyuutski said quietly to the Commander.

"No, this was not in the scenario," Commander Ikari replied, "Have Unit 01 brought back and secured. We will go over the records and debrief the pilot when he regains consciousness," he said louder to Misato.

"Yes Sir!" Misato replied with a salute.

Ranma turned and headed back to the tunnel where Ami and Shinobu were hiding once he saw the rescue teams coming to the aid of the pilot of the robot. Maybe they should stay awhile. If that robot was the quality of defense this world had against invaders, then they would need all the help they could get. In the meantime he had to rescue his companions from a perverted mod soul.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

The trio stopped briefly at an ATM machine to withdraw a few hundred thousand yen thanks to Ami's hacking skills. The Lorenz guy whose account they took it from would never miss it. They found a small beef bowl restaurant to eat a quick dinner. Finally they managed to locate a hotel that was still open in the city.

Shinobu sat on the floor watching television trying to find out what had happened on the news. There were a lot of conflicting reports and there was yet to be a statement from the military.

Ami was taking a shower while Ranma went through their meager belongings. Even emulating Mousse's hidden weapons technique, Ranma couldn't carry everything they'd run across since their journey began. The first thing he set out was Ami's bag. She'd need a change of clothes once she was done showering. He tossed Shinobu her bag so she could clean up after Ami was done.

Setting things down on the table in their room, Ranma shook his head. There was so little to show for what they'd been through. There were a couple of small bags with jewels or gold coins in them that could be exchanged for goods or currency almost anywhere. His own pack sat to one side, filled with basic survival gear. Other various knick knacks, mostly gifts from people they had met on their journey were scattered about. Ranma decided they should get a box or something for them to keep them from getting broken if they were truly going to keep them.

Ami came out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel and stood behind Ranma, gently draping her arms around his shoulders, her head resting on his left. "Hard to believe it's been almost a year."

Ranma sighed and leaned back into her embrace. "Feels like an eternity. Nabiki's gonna kill me for making her and Kasumi worry for so long. I've missed my last year of college too."

"How do you think I feel? I was in the middle of my first semester at Tokyo University when I got caught in that explosion. They've probably had me declared dead by now."

Ranma squeezed the arms around him with gentle reassurance. "It'll all work out. Someone as smart as you will figure it out in no time."

Ami kissed the top of Ranma's head and stood up straight. "Flattery will you nowhere mister. Shinobu the bath's all yours."

The girl gave a small 'eep' having been caught watching the couple at the table and with a small blush she grabbed her bag and hurried to the bathroom.

Ami tossed her towel on the foot of the bed, unmindful of Ranma's presence. He gazed in admiration for a moment before turning back to sorting the various items for better storage. Ami pulled on a pair of blue lace panties and matching bra. The sound of the shower starting up told her Shinobu would be busy for a few minutes at least.

"Shinobu is turning fifteen in a couple of weeks you know."

Ranma nodded absently turning a jade dragon figurine in his hands. "Yeah, and you're nineteen and I just turned twenty four a few months ago. So?"

Ranma was answered by a wet towel to the side of his head.

"So, you idiot, we should do something special for her," Ami sighed in exasperation, "If she were back home I'm sure her friends would throw her a big party with lots of presents."

Ranma set the towel aside and turned to look at Ami again. She had pulled on a long t-shirt with a cartoon version of Sailor Mercury on the front and was brushing her hair. "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, that's why I brought it up. We'll be here a while right?"

The pigtailed shingami nodded. "I'll need a while to build up enough power to open a gate. The gate itself will take about a week to prepare and at least two weeks to gather enough energy to power it."

"Maybe we should take a break for a while. Shinobu's already missed so much school..." Ami trailed off and turned her worried gaze to the bathroom.

Ranma sighed and stood up. He went to Ami and hugged her. "You're right of course. You and I have all the time in all the worlds to find our way home. Of course I'd hate to have to explain where I've been to Nabiki and Kasumi's grandkids. Shinobu needs a more normal life, at least for her teen years. Maybe we can take some time and try to narrow down the search for her home plane first."

"All right. I do have some new algorithms I want to try now that I've fixed our general position in the multiverse."

"The question is, do we want to hang around here or leave as soon as we can for the next world? We're dealing with giant monsters versus robots here," Ranma said while stroking Ami's damp hair.

"Well, there is a supercomputer here that I noticed while I was hacking earlier... I was kind of hoping to usurp some CPU cycles to do some major number crunching so I could free up the mercury computer a little. Besides, the last three places we were at weren't even on Earth."

Ranma could tell that Ami really wanted a crack at all the new technology she'd witnessed today so he just nodded in agreement. "At least they spoke English," he mused. Ranma turned to look at the two beds in the room. "So, which do you want?"

Ami looked to where he was gesturing. "I'll take that one. You sleep on the side next to the window."

"Yes dear," he teased.

Ami playfully swatted at Ranma. "I'll see about registering Shinobu at the local high school. You go find us a place to stay."

"All right then. Let me clean up this mess so I can get a shower once Shinobu's done. Then I'll come to bed."

Ami nodded and went to watch the news.

Shinobu came out of the bathroom a few minutes later dressed in a set of green pajamas with bananas on them. She had commented on how much her friend Su would have liked them when she bought them.

Ranma finished hiding the last bag of trinkets and grabbed a clean muscle shirt and pajama pants. It wasn't long until he was clean and ready for bed. Soon everyone was saying their goodnights and heading for bed. Shinobu blushed at the kiss Ranma placed on her forehead as he tucked her in. She protested but not too vehemently that she wasn't a little kid any more. To which Ranma just chuckled. He finished turning out the lights and crawled into bed with Ami. She scooted close and he wrapped an arm around her and the two slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Sempai! I made you some tea to help you study!" Shinobu said happily as she entered the manager's room.

"Thanks Shinobu. Wow, I didn't realize how long I'd been studying. I guess I am thirsty." Keitaro replied.

Shinobu smiled. Making Keitaro happy always brought a warm feeling to her chest. She wished she were older so she could truly compete for his heart.

Stepping into the room, Shinobu didn't see one of Keitaro's study manuals lying on the floor and in her happy daze caught her foot on it. She went stumbling forward, the tray with tea and cookies leaning precariously. Keitaro surged forward to grab the tray before it spilled. Just as he reached the tray Shinobu lost all balance and toppled. Keitaro fell back and miraculously managed to keep the tray level as Shinobu collapsed on top of him.

Shinobu opened her eyes wide in shock. Her lips were pressed up against her sempai's and she was resting on his warm body. Keitaro hadn't noticed yet having hit his head on the floor. When he opened his eyes, he nearly dropped the tray he was holding.

Shinobu lifted her head. "S-s-sempai... I'm..." she began to apologize.

Naru decided to pick just that moment to show up before she could finish. "Hey Keitaro, do you have that study guide on U.S. Histo... What the hell are you doing to Shinobu you pervert!"

Shinobu quickly scrambled off the ronin and desperately tried to explain but she kept stumbling over her words with tears coming from her eyes as she tried to keep her sempai from bodily harm. Naru of course seemed to take this as a definite sign that Keitaro had done something horrible to the poor girl and was ready to meet out divine punishment. As Shinobu watched Naru draw back her fist and rush forward, time seemed to suddenly slow down and stop. Naru hung suspended between steps with what Shinobu could see wasn't a look of righteous anger but malicious glee. Naru wasn't angry at all! She apparently enjoyed beating on Keitaro. Shinobu realized just then that Naru always seemed to show up just when Keitaro got into a compromising position. She knew he was clumsy and was purposely waiting for them to happen! Shinobu's tears flowed even more at seeing the look of fear on Keitaro's face. The tea tray had been tossed up in the air, with cookies and spilt tea frozen in mid-fall.

Shinobu didn't know what was happening. Why had everything stopped? What was going on?

Then everything seemed to twist and warp like taffy being pulled before reality shattered around her like a cheap mirror.

* * *

Shinobu shot up in her bed barely stifling a scream. She'd had the same dream for almost a year now, ever since she was blown from her own reality the same as Ranma and Ami. She worried about what happened. Was everyone ok? Did they worry about her at all? Most of all, was Keitaro all right?

Getting out of bed, Shinobu went to Ranma and Ami's bed. Ami stirred and saw Shinobu standing near her. "Nightmares again?"

Shinobu nodded, afraid to say anything.

"Come on," Ami said as she lifted her covers and scooted away from Ranma, "It's nice and warm in here."

Shinobu quickly and quietly crawled under the covers and situated herself between her two older companions. Both of them wrapped her up in soft hugs and she felt herself drift off to sleep again feeling safe in their arms.

Once Shinobu was asleep Ranma spoke, "She never talks much about what happened when the dimensional rift took her."

"She will once she feels like it. Don't force her," Ami replied.

"All right then I won't. Good night."

"night love." 


	6. Life Without Genma

What if Genma died in China? Sure it's been done a few times but everyone seems to have their own way of going about it. Anyone who has read my stories has realized by now I'm not a huge Amazons fan. So what better way to get rid of Genma than to have Shampoo do him in while he's saving Ranma. He has survivor's guilt and a newfound hatred of the Amazons. I still have the confrontation between Ranma and Cologne in my head where she tries to bring him into the tribe. Of course this new angrier Ranma may not even let Shampoo get back to China in one piece. This was written back when I still thought there could be a chance for a Ranma & Akane match-up. How foolish I was then.

* * *

Kasumi removed some cobwebs from a corner of the dining room and looked around with a smile of a job well done. Her father was sitting at the table reading the paper. Nabiki had come home and went straight to her room. Probably to organize her financial ledgers, Kasumi thought. Akane had arrived a short time later and had gone straight to her room to change into her gi. Soon the sounds of breaking rock could be heard. Kasumi shook her head. Such anger, she thought. She knew she should do something to help the girl control her temper but didn't know what to do.

There was a distant sound of thunder and Kasumi looked outside to see clouds gathering. "Oh dear. I'll have to bring the laundry in."

* * * * * * * * * *

A figure stumbled down the street oblivious to the downpour around her. A small redhead came into focus. She was wearing ragged clothes and looked exhausted. She looked around desperately searching for something. A look of hope appeared briefly on her face as she saw a sign beside a large gate.

"Finally." she said, pushing the gate open.

* * * * * * * * * *

Kasumi finished putting the last of the laundry away when she heard a faint knock at the door. Seeing that no one was going to answer it she went down the hall herself.

She opened the door and gasped in shock at the poor girl before her.

"Hello, I'm Ranma Saotome, Genma's son. Sorry about this." She said before collapsing to the ground.

* * * * * * * * * *

She fought her way back to consciousness slowly.

"She's coming around." Ranma heard a female voice.

"Uh, where am I?", Ranma groaned as she sat up and looked around. She saw three girls close to her own age sitting next to an older man with a mustache.

"You are in the Tendo dojo. Are you all right? You said you're Genma's child?" The man asked.

"Yeah I was just exhausted from traveling … I'm Genma's son, Ranma." She said.

"How can you be his son? You're a girl." The short haired girl said.

The scarlet haired girl shook her head, "If one of you could get me a glass of hot water, out of the tap would be hot enough, I'll explain everything."

Kasumi got up and went to the kitchen, she returned shortly with a glass of water. The redhead took the glass and thanked Kasumi.

"Ok, this is going to be a shock so be prepared," the girl warned before dumping the glass over herself.

The whole Tendo family gasped as the redhead shifted into a larger dark haired man, "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

* * * * * * * * * *

"So because of Jusenkyou, every time I get wet with cold water I turn into a girl." Ranma explained.

"But hot water turns you back?" Akane asked.

Ranma nodded.

"Well Ranma, It's good to finally meet you. Your father wrote me a few months back that you would be finishing up your training trip in a few months and be heading back to Japan. So where is your father boy?" Soun asked.

Ranma gulped and looked at the floor sadly, "My father...he's...he's...dead."

"What? How son, how did it happen?"

"It happened a couple of days after Jusenkyou. Our guide took us to a nearby village that he said could give us more information about our curses. Pops was cursed to turn into a panda by the way."

"They were having this big festival or something and there was this huge table covered in food. We kinda assumed it was like a buffet and helped ourselves. Pop ate quite a bit. He was always a big eater. Anyway, it turned out it was actually the first prize for the winner of this tournament the village was holding. The winner wasn't very happy to see that we'd eaten most of the first prize. So I challenged her thinking if I beat her then she couldn't complain because first prize would be ours. I beat her pretty easy, I'd been training for ten years under pop after all."

"This next part was where it happened. You have to remember that I was a girl at the time. We hadn't had a chance to get any hot water since leaving Jusenkyou. This girl comes over after the fight and I'm thinking, 'She's coming to shake my hand for a good match' or something like that. Instead, she takes my head in her hands and kisses me on the cheek. We're both girls here remember? Our guide suddenly goes nuts and starts screaming about Chinese amazons and kisses of death and how she was now going to hunt me to the ends of the earth to kill me for defeating her."

"Pop freaks out and we high tail it out of there. For the next four weeks we made our way back towards the coast to catch a boat to Japan this Chinese bimbo dogging our every step. We managed to lose her a few times while I was a guy and pop wasn't a panda. Apparently she never made the connection about Jusenkyou."

Ranma takes a deep breath and shudders for a moment, "It was while we were waiting for our boat to pull out of the harbor when it happened. We were helping load the ship as part of our payment for passage when she came by. She actually came up to us and asked us if we'd seen a red headed girl and a panda. We directed her back towards town and she had turned to leave when a crate broke loose from the loading crane as the last piece of cargo was being loaded. It fell into the water splashing up over the two of us. The girl turned back and immediately began to attack me. The crew rushed to finish casting off not wanting to hang around a crazy martial arts chick with a sword. As the boat pulled away, I realized our chance of escape was heading out to sea. I shouted to pop and he said something in panda I didn't understand."

"He leapt over to me and grabbed me by the back of my gi. He actually managed to throw me onto the ship as it headed out. I managed to get to my feet in time to see the girl run her sword... she stabbed him in the back... while he was saving me. Pop gave his life to save me. All the things I've put up with over the years, the food fights, the bad advice, even stupid training techniques, and he actually put my life before his in the end. Damn you Pop..." Ranma finally trailed off unable to continue. He wiped his eyes trying not to cry.

* * * * * * * * * *

They waited until Ranma composed himself before starting dinner.

"So how did you know to come here by yourself?" Soun asked.

"Pops always told me that if anything ever happened to him then I was to go to the Tendo dojo in Nerima for help. I'm really sorry if I intruded." Ranma said.

"Not at all boy, not at all. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you need. Once you feel up to it I do need to discuss some things your father and I had made arrangements about concerning you."

Ranma nodded sleepily. He ate dinner mechanically and Akane showed him to the guest room and pulled out a spare futon.

"I'm real sorry about your dad. I lost my mom when I was real young." Akane tried to sympathize.

Ranma gave a sad smile, "I don't even know if my mom is still alive. I might be an orphan now."

"Would you like to be friends?" Akane asked, holding out a hand.

Ranma took the hand, "Thanks, I could use a friend right about now."

"Well goodnight. I'll be going to school tomorrow but Kasumi and dad will be here all day."

Ranma nodded as Akane shut the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ranma woke up early as the sun came into his window. He usually got up and sparred with his dad before breakfast. Only his father wasn't here. Ranma squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "I won't cry. Real men don't cry." He said over and over in a whisper. Finally he composed himself and got dressed.

He entered the dining room to see Soun reading the morning paper. He could hear sounds of cooking in the kitchen.

Soun looked up from his paper, "Good morning son, did you sleep well?"

Ranma nodded slightly. He hadn't, but he had no reason to worry Mr. Tendo. "I was wondering Tendo-san if I could perhaps practice in your dojo before breakfast?"

"Of course, feel free to use it anytime you need to." Soun smiled and went back to his paper.

Ranma entered the dojo and bowed to the small shrine before beginning a kata. As he found his center, he slowly forgot everything except for the movements of the art. Only the art existed, flowing from one form to another.

Akane returned from her morning jog to see the door to the dojo open. She looked in to see Ranma practicing. She stood spellbound as he moved around the dojo floor like a dancer. His form was flawless and smooth. She became envious of his mastery. It was obvious he took the art seriously. He finished his kata and bowed to the shrine again.

Ranma turned to see Akane clapping. He blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You're really good. Would you like to spar?" Akane asked.

Ranma's smile vanished, "I'm sorry. I don't fight with girls."

Akane became angry, "What do you mean? You don't think a girl's good enough to fight?"

"No, I'm sorry. Fighting a girl is what got Pop killed." Ranma slumped his shoulders.

Akane's anger quickly fled, "Oh, I'm sorry Ranma. I understand. If you ever change your mind, I'd be more than happy to train with you. I promise I won't try to hunt you down if you win." Akane smiled lamely.

Ranma seemed to cheer up a little, "That would be nice. Sometime maybe..." He trailed off.

Akane nodded. At least he didn't say no. Together they walked back in to eat breakfast.

* * * * * * * * * *

Later, Ranma moped around the house. He tried watching some TV. He quickly got bored and tried practicing in the dojo again. His heart just wasn't in it. Finally, he sat down on a boulder at the edge of the pond and watched the koi swim around.

Soun watched the boy for a while studying his mood. After seeing Ranma mope about on the side of the pond for a few minutes, he called him over.

Ranma hopped off the boulder and walked over to the porch. Soun had pulled a shogi board out from somewhere and was setting up the pieces.

"Come and play a game or two. Your father and I would sometimes play for hours." Soun said.

Ranma flinched a little at hearing about his dad, "Sure Tendo-san I think I'd like that."

"Please, you can call me Uncle or Soun. You're almost like family you know. Your father and I both practiced the anything goes style of martial arts."

Ranma nodded as he studied the board. He never played shogi much before and was a little rusty on how to move the pieces. Soun won the first six games. After the tenth game, Soun realized Ranma had a sharp mind and an eye for tactics. He learned quickly, Soun had lost the last four games in a row and was on his way to losing the fifth.

"You learn pretty fast Ranma. Have you given any thought on going back to school?" Soun asked.

"I haven't had much in the way of formal schooling. Pop and I never stayed in one place for too long. I've been to about ten different schools across Japan."

"I could get you enrolled at Akane and Nabiki's school. It would be better than moping around here all day and maybe it will get your mind off things."

Ranma looked thoughtful, "I guess you're right. I would like to have something to do. Even if it is something boring like school."

"Excellent, I'll call them today and get it set up. By the way, I win."

Ranma looked down at the board. Somehow, all the pieces had moved putting Ranma in check. Soun just grinned. Ranma had to laugh and soon the two were laughing together

* * * * * * * * * *

Ranma smoothed out the black jacket of his school uniform. It was a little tight but he didn't want it too loose when he got wet and he always seemed to get wet. He checked himself over in the mirror and gave a satisfied nod.

He went downstairs and sat at the table next to Akane. She smiled and greeted him as Kasumi served up rice and miso soup.

"Thank you for the school uniform Tendo-san, I mean Uncle Soun. I don't know how I can repay you. I've been thinking about finding a part time job or something while I'm here." Ranma said between bites.

"Nonsense boy. As for a job, we'll discuss it once you've settled in a bit. I had Nabiki put together a bag and school supplies for you so you won't be left out on your first day. Now hurry up so you can get to school." Soun replied.

Nabiki finished and got her own supplies together. She handed her father a slip of paper as she turned to leave.

"Eh, what's this?" Soun asked.

"My bill. School supplies, plus handling and delivery fees. Sorry daddy gotta run!"

Soun broke down crying about his mercenary daughter.

Akane finished up and picked up her bag, "Come on Ranma, we don't want to be late."

Ranma nodded and gulped the last of his rice down and grabbed the new bag sitting near the door. Together Ranma and Akane ran out into the street.

Soun sat back and dried his eyes. He smiled at how well Ranma seemed to be getting along with his daughters, "Well Saotome, it seems the duty of uniting our families falls to me. I will not fail you my old friend."

Ranma was walking along the top of a chain link fence blocking off the nearby canal. He seemed lost in thought as Akane walked alongside on the ground.

"Why are you doing that?" Akane asked, breaking Ranma out of his reverie.

"Huh? Doing what?" He answered.

"Walking on the fence like that?"

"Oh, balance practice. Pop's always said I should treat everything like martial arts training." His eyes clouded as he realized what he'd said and he turned back to stare at his feet as he walked.

Akane saw him withdraw and tried to think of something to bring him back out, "Um, can I try?"

"Wha? Oh yeah, sure. Why not? Your dad trained you in the Anything Goes style right? You should know how to do this already." Ranma answered.

Akane hesitated and she ground her toe into the ground, "Well, dad kinda stopped training me after my mom died."

"Oh." Ranma said. He seemed to think a moment then leaned over and held out his hand, "We'll just have to do something about that then won't we?"

Akane reached out and grabbed his hand. She cried out a little as he effortlessly pulled her up onto the fence with him. She stood unsteadily in front of him as he held her hand. He turned her around so she faced away from him and put his hands on her hips. She almost turned to clobber him and call him a pervert for touching her like that when he started to move her forward. She suddenly had her hands full just trying to concentrate to keep from falling.

"All right. You're doing good. No, don't look at your feet. Look up so you can see where you're going. Think of it like a kata, know where your feet are going to be without looking. Good, good. Now let's go faster."

'Faster?!' Akane began to panic as Ranma pushed her up to a normal walking pace. Then Akane misstepped and began to fall forward. She felt an arm go around her waist and pull her back. She felt Ranma's hard muscled chest and stomach press into her back. She could feel the warmth emanating from his body.

Ranma instinctively grabbed Akane as she began to fall and pulled her back against him. He could feel solid muscles underneath the feminine softness. There was a scent of flowers in her hair. He felt himself heat up and knew he must be blushing. He quickly let go and stepped back ready to catch her again just in case she fell.

"I'm sorry." Ranma said quickly looking away as if something in the canal was interesting.

"It's ok, I tripped." Akane replied. He stopped me from falling right? He's not a pervert. He could have used the opportunity to feel me up but didn't. Akane's anger dissipated and she hopped down from the fence. "We can continue this later. I don't want to be late."

"Uh, sure."

The two turned and darted to the school only to have Ranma run right into a splash of water from an old lady dusting her sidewalk.

Ranma cried out in frustration causing the lady to back up fearfully from the glowing redhead.

"I should have known better than to even try to live a normal life with this damn curse." Ranma cursed.

"It's not that bad Ranma. Come on, I know where we can get some hot water on the way." Akane grabbed Ranma's arm and pulled her along at a run.

They stopped at a doctor's office near the school. Akane led Ranma inside and told her to stay put in the waiting room while she went to see if the teakettle had any warm water left.

Ranma waited patiently for Akane to come back when she felt a bony hand land on her shoulder. She screamed and leapt away to see a young doctor holding a medical study skeleton. He made the skeleton wave.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I'm Dr. Tofu and this is my skeleton Betty." The doctor introduced himself.

Ranma calmed down and bowed in greeting as Akane came back with the kettle, "Oh, Hi Dr. Tofu!" She said cheerily.

"How are you today Akane? No new injuries?" The doctor asked. Akane shook her head.

"We just came for some hot water." She blushed. "Well come on Ranma, we're still running late!"

They left the clinic at a dead run.

"So, Dr. Tofu's a martial artist?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Akane asked back.

"He'd have to be a pretty good one to sneak up on me. So how long have you had a crush on him?"

"What?! I don't have a crush on Dr. Tofu! Don't be a pervert!" Akane retorted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's none of my business." Ranma turned to look ahead again frowning.

Akane regretted blowing up at him. She did have a crush on the doctor and had been caught by surprise to hear someone mention it outright like that. And it wasn't like Ranma was prying really.

"It's ok Ranma. I didn't mean to yell. It doesn't matter anyway. There's someone else he likes. I don't really think you're a pervert either."

"Thanks, I have a bad habit of saying and doing things that I don't mean or intend. I'm trying to be a bit better since it was that attitude that got me in trouble with the amazon village."

They were approaching the gates of Furinkan and Akane began to speed up. Ranma looked ahead and saw a huge crowd of students gathered just inside.

"Hey, what's going on up there?" Ranma asked.

"Just stay out of this. You don't want to become involved in this mess." Akane warned.

She bolted into the schoolyard as the huge crowd of boys surged forward with proclamations of love or at least lust. Akane used her momentum to take four of them out of the fight right off.

Ranma jumped up on the wall near the gate to watch. Akane moved with a fair amount of precision through the group, never taking more than a glancing blow. He could see what was happening though. The mob was attempting to wear her down. He could see how sloppy her form was. This was no martial arts fight this was a brawl. What he wanted to know was who was responsible for this mess.

He heard Nabiki's voice from the school, "Hurry up and get inside Ranma! Akane deals with this every morning!"

Ranma frowned as he watched Akane crack the mask of a hockey goalie, "Who's responsible for this?" He shouted back.

"Don't worry about it Ranma, just go inside." Akane growled as she elbowed a kendo fighter in the gut. Eventually she was the last one standing. She was breathing heavily and wiped a little sweat from her forehead.

Ranma leapt down with a concerned look on his face, "What's this all about Akane?"

Akane turned to answer when something flew through the air at her. Ranma reached out and intercepted it. It was a red rose.

"How dare thee knave intercede in the path of true love. Who are you that you think you may be so familiar with the fair Akane Tendo? Only the one who beats her in combat may date her, so I Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High have proclaimed," said a man as he came from the shadows of a pillar near the entrance of the school.

"So this is your fault!" Ranma growled, "Do you have any idea what this mob fighting has done to Akane's fighting form? You're destroying her martial art skills for a date?"

Ranma stood up tall and erect, "All right, listen up! I am Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of martial arts and Akane's new sensei. These morning fights will stop and stop now or you'll answer to me. And you won't find me nearly as nice as Akane when dealing with idiots."

There was a shocked silence for a moment as dark clouds were rolling in from overhead. People were rushing inside to either escape the rain or the ensuing battle as Kuno faced Ranma with a scowl.

"What could the fair Akane possibly learn from one such as you?" Kuno taunted.

"Do you want to see what I'm offering to teach her? Come learn from me." Ranma returned.

Kuno leapt at Ranma and struck but Ranma was no longer there. He was flipping over backwards through the air removing his backpack at the same time. He tossed it to Akane, "You're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna beat me."

Kuno closed and swiped at Ranma again who ducked and swept Kuno's legs from under him with a kick. Kuno rolled with the fall and came up on his feet again only to have Ranma kick the boken from his hand. Kuno's eyes followed the flying kendo sword and he didn't see the kick hit his jaw and snap his head back.

Akane stared as Ranma's kick hit Kuno's head. She heard a sharp crack and Kuno went down hard. Ranma caught the boken without really looking and walked over to the still kendoist.

"Is he...?" Akane asked.

"He's ok." Ranma ran a hand along Kuno's jaw. "His jaw's not broken. He might have cracked a tooth though. He's lucky he didn't bite his tongue." Ranma picked him up and shouldered Kuno's body, "Idiot shouldn't have left such an easy opening. You go on to class, I'll see you there after I drop him off in the nurse's office."

Ranma carried the prone Kuno into the school just as the rain decided to fall.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Class, this is Ranma Saotome. He just recently returned to Japan from a long trip to China. However that doesn't excuse the fact he was late, grab some buckets and stand in the hall."

Ranma grumbled to himself outside the classroom. At least he managed to get Akane to class on time. He didn't want her any madder than she already was at him. He was sure he'd get an earful later for interfering in her morning fights and for proclaiming to be her sensei without asking her first.

Ranma sighed. All he had left was the Art. With his father gone he had no one to spar with. Akane had potential he saw but without proper training and the morning brawls, her skills were in serious need of relearning. He rather hoped she would be able to spar with him. It would be nice to have someone his own age to train with, even if it was a girl. It was sad that Ranma had to learn the hard way that girls aren't weak. "Damn it Shampoo... I was the one you were after. Why did you have to kill dad?"

* * * * * * * * * *

Akane sat in class staring at the door. Her mind was full of conflict. She was mad at Ranma for interfering yet she was impressed with his skill. And his proclamation of being her sensei confused her. He had told her he didn't fight girls yet he was willing to train her. He pretty much offered on the way to school this morning. Then there was the matter of his curse. Akane sighed. Ranma was a mess of conflicts. He was arrogant and egotistical yet kind and thoughtful. She shook her head, as long as Ranma was living in their home she should try to be friends. Maybe he was serious about training her. He was pretty good.

She suddenly realized someone was talking to her. She looked up to see the teacher staring at her.

"I would expect some of our other students of not paying attention in class but you Akane? Get some buckets and go join Mr. Saotome in the hall."

* * * * * * * * * *

Ranma was interrupted from his brooding when Akane stepped outside with two buckets of her own. She scowled at Ranma briefly then took up a spot on the side of the door opposite Ranma.

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

Akane flushed in embarrassment. She didn't want Ranma to know she was in trouble for thinking about him in class. She also didn't want to give Ranma the satisfaction of knowing he had driven her to distraction.

"I was distracted thinking about this morning's fight." She finally said.

"Uh, yeah. I was going to apologize for that. It was pretty stupid of me to say I was your sensei without asking first. I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of your friends."

"Oh, yeah. I guess you're forgiven. I do wish you'd asked first, even though I'd have said yes." Akane smiled. She was finding it hard to stay mad at the depressed boy. She silently vowed she'd do everything she could to help Ranma get past his grief. If keeping her temper was part of that then so be it.

"So you'll do it? You'll let me train you?" Ranma asked.

Was that hope in his voice? Akane nodded, "It would be great to be even half as good as you seem to be." She hoped she wasn't laying it on too thick. He was good, but she felt she'd be up to his level in a month tops.

Ranma slumped his shoulders, "I've been training hard almost non-stop since Pops died. I can't hold back anymore, not if that's what gets people killed. If I had gone all out against Shampoo the first time she tried to kill us then he'd still be alive. I won't let anyone die from my inaction again."


	7. If Wishes were Horses

Basic Ranma becomes a Saiyan crossover with DBZ. Set during/before/alternate GT. Abandoned because there's so god damned many of these already on the net.

* * *

Ranma grumbled to himself as he made his way through the deep woods of China in the middle of the night. "Stupid old man. Bolting on me the minute that purple haired bi--" he trailed off. There was a bright light off a ways to his right and he could hear people talking in excited voices. Cautiously he made his towards what seemed to be a clearing. There was a small airship with a number six on the side. He was only slightly familiar with Capsule technology, his father could never afford it or even operate it if he could but Ranma was fairly certain it was a Capsule manufacture air vehicle. There were three figures, a tall woman and two short figures. Ranma did a doubletake when he got a good look at the two smaller figures. One was some sort of dog person in a uniform, the other was a small ugly blue skinned man of indeterminate age. Ranma had never seen any, but he had heard all the rumors of the Red Ribbon Army's early genetic experiments. Apparently up in Siberia these things were fairly common and after his experiences in Jusenkyou Ranma wasn't too shocked by new things anymore.

Ranma approached closer to try and hear the conversation.

"I can't believe we finally did it!" the dog man said happily.

"No thanks to you." The blue man countered.

"We must hurry Emperor Pilaf. Make your wishes before Goku or his friends show up." The tall girl gestured wildly.

"Yes, of course. All that is left is to call forth Shen Lon the Dragon and finally make my wish to be Emperor of the world. Quick, gather the dragonballs!" Pilaf cackled.

Ranma wasn't entirely sure what was going on but he had heard 'wishes' and this guy talking about world domination, something Ranma as a martial artist was sworn to fight. He decided to interfere with these guys' plans. He leapt from the bushes with a loud yell and smiled at the surprised looks on their faces.

"Man that wasn't even a workout." Ranma complained as he tied up the last person. He had quickly taken out the two short guys without hardly even moving. Ranma had been reluctant to hit a girl, especially after the incident in the Amazon village and had been unprepared for her to pull a gun on him. He had overreacted a bit he mused. He checked her wrist again, it was a clean break and would heal ok if she got medical attention. The rules changed with firearms, even a non warrior could kill a martial artist with the coward's weapon. Ranma had been a little too forceful in removing the gun from the woman.

After making sure everyone was secured, Ranma surveyed the campsite. His eyes came to rest on the seven orange glowing balls resting on the ground in a pile. He thought back to what he had overheard, 'call forth the dragon Shen Lon'.

He touched one of the balls gently as if it might burn him, "Umm, uh, come out Shen Lon?" he asked softly.

The balls suddenly began to glow brightly and dark clouds gathered overhead. Suddenly a flash of electrical light shot out of the balls and began to coalesce into the shape of a long Chinese dragon. There were coils of the dragon's body as far as Ranma could see. He sincerely hoped the dragon was friendly, if not he was toast.

The huge head lowered until it was staring down at Ranma with its glowing red eyes. "Who has summoned Shen Lon? Who dares awaken me from my slumber?"

Ranma gulped nervously, "Uh, hi. I did. My name is Ranma Saotome. You're not gonna eat me are you?"

The red eyes flashed mischievously, "I will grant two wishes, no more. Make your first wish."

Ranma thought for a second, two wishes!? The first was obvious. He hated this curse ever since he first picked it up, "Can you cure this Jusenkyou curse?"

The dragon growled, "That is beyond my power. The curse of Jusenkyou is powered by gods more powerful than I."

*_I'm cursed by gods? Great what else can go wrong with my life. _* "How about the ability to control when I change forms then?" Ranma asked.

"That I can grant." The dragons eyes flashed orange, "Granted. What is your second wish?"

Ranma thought some more. *_I could wish for money or power. No then I'd be like that little blue guy. Hmmm, I could wish to be the most powerful martial artist in the world. No that would be like cheating. If I do that I might as well use a gun to fight my fights. Wait, I know…_*

"I wish that, with training, I have the potential to be the most powerful fighter in the wor.. no the whole universe."

The dragon's eyes flashed again, "Granted. You have no wishes remaining I now take my leave." The dragon broke down into energy again and the dragonballs floated up into the air and then flew off in seven random directions.

Ranma looked around confused. That was it? He didn't feel different from either wish. He started to think maybe he'd been conned when he heard a groan from one of his unconscious prisoners. He turned to check on them and fell flat on his ass.

*_'the hell? Why is my balance all off? _* Ranma ran a hand through his hair while pondering his question. He realized his hair felt different as well. It was thicker and springier, he was sure it would be a bitch to style. Sighing he tried getting up slowly. As he tried to balance he felt something twitch in his pants. He felt through the material near his lower back, something was attached just above his butt cheeks. He grabbed a hold and pulled experimentally, and fell down again as he was wracked with pain. Letting go he pulled down his pants a short way and a long furry brown tail popped out and waved about nervously.

"Augh! What the hell did that dragon do to me?" Now that the tail was free, Ranma's sense of balance returned. In fact it felt better than ever. "How does a tail make me a better martial artist?" he mused. At that moment he heard something flying towards his position and felt enormous power behind whatever it was. He quickly ripped a hole in his pants for his new tail. It wouldn't do to be caught with his pants down.

Three figures surrounded in a golden aura flew down and into the clearing.

"Oh no Grandpa, we're too late!" a young girl about Ranma's age exclaimed.

A tall man with straight purple hair looked around and took in the situation, "That may be but it doesn't look like Pilaf got to make his wish." He pointed where the would be emperor and his henchmen were tied up off to the side.

The third figure, a young boy from the looks of him, no more than ten or twelve years old looked at Ranma appraisingly. "Hey! Did you knock out these guys and make a wish?"

Ranma could sense power beyond anything he'd ever felt before. Hopefully these guys were friendly, if not he doubted even the Saotome school special techniques would save his hide. Just what had he gotten himself into? "I'm Ranma Saotome. I came across these guys in the woods here talking about wishes and world conquest so I knocked them out. If those were your dragonballs I'm sorry but I used the wishes. I figured better me than let them be used for evil."

The girl was walking around Ranma now with an unrecognizable expression, "Um, You guys aren't gonna wanna fight are you? I can tell you're real powerful." Ranma said. He wondered if crouch of the white tiger might not be a bad idea right now.

The girl suddenly grabbed him by his shirt collar, "Tell me, what did you wish for?"

"Pan! Don't scare the boy!" the small boy said.

"Sorry Grandpa. Sorry Saotome-san. I'm just curious, did you always have a tail?" she asked. That go an immediate reaction from the other two Saiyajins.

"What!?" They both exclaimed.

"Uh, I'm not sure but one of my wishes was to have the potential to be the greatest fighter in the universe. I think that's how I got my tail." Ranma explained.

Pan face faulted, Goku started laughing while the guy with a nametag on his vest that said Trunks just stood there with his mouth open.

"It sounds to me like the dragon Shen-Lon turned you into a Saiyajin like us." Goku said.

Pan recovered and bowed, she had that look in her eyes again that Ranma couldn't place, "We should introduce ourselves. I'm Son Pan, this is my Grandfather Son Goku, and my cousin Briefs Trunks."

It was Ranma's turn to be surprised. Every year there was a world martial arts tournament that Hercule Satan always won but he remembered seeing Son Goku fight one year against a guy named Vegeta. It was the most intense thing he'd ever seen and he was positive Mr. Satan had some hold over both Majin Buu and the other finalists. Hercule Satan was a bumbling fool as far as Ranma was concerned. His father never let Ranma sign up for the tournament though, always claiming that the art was not for showing off. Ranma had always wondered about his father's reactions. The prize money for winning was excellent and not something Genma would usually pass up. But every year the tournament would come and go. Now Ranma began to realize why. As for why the great Son Goku was a kid again, Ranma had seen weirder than that lately.

Ranma bowed, "I am honored to be in your presence honored Son Goku. I have seen your exploits at the World Greatest Tournament." He rose back to upright, "um, what's a Saiyajin anyway?"

* * * * * * * * * *

"You've got some nerve picking my fiancé without even telling me!" a very angry female Ranma bounced around a large black and white panda. It was raining lightly and the streets were empty for the moment. Ranma slid to a stop in front of the panda and assumed a defensive posture. "I ain't got time for fiancés, Son Pan offered to train me so I gotta get to Satan city. So suck on that old man!"

Ranma turned to walk away, confident the panda could do nothing to stop her when she was struck upside the head with a nearby streetsign.

Not long after at the nearby Tendo Dojo, Akane and her sisters were busy chewing out their father for engaging them to a boy they'd never met. From the sounds of a struggle at the front door, Soun Tendo took that as an opportunity to distract is daughters.

"That must be them." He shouted getting up and running down the hall. Nabiki was hot on his heels. She was of two opinions on the fiance subject. If he was good looking, reasonably intelligent, and easy to manipulate she snatch him up in a second. It was hard to find a decent male in Nerima what with the quality of students at Furinkan and the nearby Tomoboki high schools. Nabiki was getting pretty hard up for a boyfriend but if this guy was just another dufus like at school she'd either unload him on Akane or find some way to get rid of him all together. Who knows, if Akane was engaged to someone the rest of the student body might wise up and mature a little bit. All these thoughts racing through Nabiki's head ground to a halt when she saw the huge panda carrying a kicking screaming person on its shoulder.

Terrified, Soun and Nabiki ran back into the hallway only to run into Akane and Kasumi who were coming to investigate. Together the Tendo family turned and confronted the menace of the bear shaped monstrosity.

"Put me down Pops! You're scaring the hell out of them." The redhead yelled. The panda complied, setting Ranma down.

Soun leaned forward, "You wouldn't be..."

"Ranma Saotome, sorry 'bout this." Ranma said, giving an angry glare to the panda.

"Finally you came!" Soun moved to Glomp onto Ranma who deftly maneuvered out of the way. Nabiki leaned over to look closer at the short redhead.

"You're a girl!" Nabiki exclaimed. Reaching out she grabbed a breast and gave it a soft squeeze.

Ranma looked down at herself, "Oh, yeah. Hold on." She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. Her form blurred and shifted, growing taller and fuller. The hair turned black and the clothes tightened around the now male frame.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and gave a half smile, "Uh, I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this."

* * * * * * * * * *

Ranma finished his explanation of his meeting with Shen-Lon and the Son family. Genma snorted, "Foolish boy, do you really expect anyone to believe such wild tales? People can't fly. Everyone knows the World's Greatest Tournament has been rigged for almost twenty years. Ever since Son Goku won it. And wish granting dragons? Why didn't you cure your curse if you had a wish?"

"Damn it Pops, I explained that already! The curse was more powerful than the dragon granting the wish." Ranma yelled.

Nabiki interrupted, "So let me see if I got this straight. You are really a guy that picked up a water based sex changing curse but you got a wish granted that allows you to change whenever you feel like it and a second wish that gave you a tail."

Ranma blanched, "I wished for the potential to be the strongest fighter in the universe so the dragon turned me into a Saiyajin. According to Son Goku, they were a race of warriors stronger than anything else in the universe. That's why I got a tail, all Saiyajin have one."

"Riggghhht." Nabiki humored.

Ranma gave up, "Anyway, Pops here says I'm supposed to marry one of you. I'm not too keen on the idea myself. I have too much to do without worrying about a wife."

Soun chose that moment to speak up, "Ranma, you have a duty as the only Saotome of your generation to marry one of my daughters and carry on the Anything Goes Style of martial arts. It's a matter of honor!"

Ranma frowned, "Look, I appreciate honor and everything but it's obvious your daughters don't like the idea. Especially her, she's looking at me like I'm a freak."

"You are a freak." Akane stated.

"Uh, yeah, see what I'm talkin' about? Ok, how about this, you wait two weeks for me to get to know each of them and for them to get to know me and then we'll talk about it ok?" Ranma offered.

"I guess two weeks will be all right. But make no mistake, you will marry one of my daughters. It's a matter of honor." Soun repeated.

Ranma sighed, "Do you mind if I make a phone call then? I need to let Son Pan know why I'm not coming."

Soun nodded and Kasumi showed him to the phone.

A short while later in Satan city Pan finished her phone call, "Ok Ranma, I understand. Bye!"

"Dad! I want you to transfer me to Furinkan High as of tomorrow!" Pan shouted, "It's a matter of continuing the species." She giggled to herself.


	8. Super Ranma and The Tendo Four

Here's a little sillyness that came to me while reading comic books at work. I most likely won't go any further than what is here.

Disclaimer:

All characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, DC comics, and Marvel Comics Group. Possibly Image comics as well. We'll see.

Chapter 1: Ranma comes to Neo Tokyo

* * *

Soun looked up from his workbench as the tone for incoming e-mail pinged from a nearby wall monitor. He stretched over and opened the file.

It was four simple words, "Ranma coming home today."

Soun was overjoyed. Holding back his tears he hit the intercom button. "Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane! Report to the conference room…please," He added as an afterthought.

Kasumi was in the kitchen busy cooking lunch. Various pots and pans floated about as knives cut food by themselves. When the call came in over the intercom, she looked up as the various utensils settled into safe places and the stove turned off. She got up and left the kitchen.

Nabiki was in her room reading a manga when her father's voice interrupted her train of thought. "This had better be an emergency or he'll be sorry." She said, getting up. She opened the door, "Flame on!" she burst into flame and flew down the hall.

Akane was in the training room. She drew back her fist and drove it into the solid adamantium block with all her might. The block didn't dent but it was driven back almost twenty feet. "Twenty tons, nineteen feet ten and a quarter inches." A computerized voice announced. Akane wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her green hand. She stood almost seven feet tall, had dark green skin, with even darker green hair. She was wearing a skin tight body suit that she wore for training.

The intercom call made her break into a wide grin. 'Maybe Annihilus was attacking again.' She thought as she ran to the conference room hoping to get into a good fight.

**********

It was raining heavily as two figures moved down the road in the Nerima district of Neo Tokyo. One was a petite redhead hovering about a foot off the ground. The other was simply a Giant Panda. This in itself wasn't too strange because the growing field of genetic technology and cloning had taken pandas off the endangered species list.

"So why are we going to the Tendo building anyway?" the girl asked.

"Grruf. Mrfrr. Growl." The panda replied.

"Sheesh! I can't believe you did this to us! Why didn't you tell me you couldn't read Chinese? I would have translated it for you." She said. "Even as invulnerable as I am you know I'm still susceptible to magic."

The panda shrugged. They reached a tall skyscraper with the Kanji for the number four on all sides near the top.

"So you really know the Tendo four?"

The panda nodded.

**********

"So you see, by marrying Ranma one of you would be able to carry on the battle against evil to the next generation." Soun explained.

The conference table cracked under Akane's fist even though it was heavily reinforced. "What do you mean married? There's no way I'm gonna get married to some weak man!"

"Who knows, he might be a cute meta-human." Nabiki said. She was back to normal wearing a blue body suit with the Kanji four on it.

"Oh dear, I hope he's older. Younger men tend to be so immature." Kasumi sighed. She was wearing a yellow dress and still had her apron on.

"So what's he like? What's his origin?" Nabiki asked.

"I have no idea. I've never met him." Soun said.

"So you don't even know if this guy has any powers?" Akane practically screamed.

"Truthfully, I didn't even know my friend Genma had gotten married."

There was a chime from the wall panel, "There are two 'people' in the foyer who are asking to see Mr. Tendo. Shall I send them up?" the computer voice asked.

"That must be them. Yes, please direct them to the conference room." Soun replied.

A few minutes later the double doors slid open allowing the redhead girl and panda into the room. The girl was wearing a blue top that was fairly tight across her ample bust. There was a distorted, stylized 'S' in a diamond on her chest. Her pants were a loose black material that resembled silk. A red cape hung from her back.

"Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this." She gestured to her body.

Soun fainted.

**********

Soun slowly regained consciousness. He noticed that everyone was crowded around him.

"Let me guess, you didn't know Mr. Saotome had a girl?" Nabiki asked.

"I always assumed Genma's son was a man." He replied.

"Does this look like a girl to you daddy?" Nabiki said poking Ranma in one of her breasts.

"Please don't do that." Ranma said quietly.

"C'mon guys be nice. She's our guest." Akane said. She smiled at Ranma, "Hi I'm Akane but some people call me She Hulk. Do you want to be friends?"

Ranma looked up at the huge girl and nodded.

"You look pretty powerful for being so small. Wanna go spar in the training room? Just for practice, ok?"

"Sure why not?" Ranma said.

The two walked out of the room to the elevators, "So are you related to that new guy who calls himself Superman?" Akane asked as they left.

"You… could say that." Ranma said as the elevator doors closed.

**********

Akane and Ranma faced off against each other in the large training hall. It was huge, taking up two whole floors of the complex.

"Are you ready?" Akane asked.

"Yeah." Ranma replied standing in a casual relaxed position.

Akane was perplexed. She didn't know how powerful this girl was and didn't want to hurt her so she decided to go easy and test her out. She jumped from her place across the room with her foot out to kick but there was nothing to hit. Ranma appeared off to her side smiling. 'Damn, she's fast.' Akane thought. She struck out with a punch from her left hand. Ranma casually leapt over it. Akane felt her anger rise. She struck out almost randomly trying to hit the smaller girl. Finally, frustrated, she decided enough was enough and went full out. Ranma's speed allowed her to effortlessly dodge Akane's punches. Akane screamed furiously and aimed one final punch at Ranma's head. She leapt into the air as the punch ripped through the reinforced steel wall of the training room. Akane felt a tap on the back of her head and turned around to see Ranma floating behind her with a smile on her face.

Akane couldn't help but laugh, "You're pretty fast."

"You're pretty strong." Ranma countered.

"I'm just glad you're a girl." Akane said.

"Hmm, Why's that?"

"Because I won't have to marry you like our fathers agreed to before we were born." Akane explained.

Ranma was stunned. Akane didn't seem to notice as she left the room.

A few minutes later Ranma shook her head, "Why that God Damned furball. If he wasn't so weak, I'd…" she left the thought unspoken.

**********

Ranma sat in the furo, steam rising off the water. The hair was black and loose about the shoulders. The facial features were obviously male as were his chest and muscled arms. He had asked Kasumi where the bath was so he could wash the dirt off and relax after the heavy workout. He was impressed with Akane's strength but knew her speed needed serious work. Strength was no good if you couldn't hit your target.

Akane entered the changing room outside the furo and noticed Ranma's costume lying on a bench. 'She must already be in the furo. It'll be nice to have another girl superhero to talk to besides my sisters.' She undressed and slid open the door to the furo. Inside was a dark haired man stepping out of the tub. They looked at each other for a few seconds. Akane looked him up and down as he blushed. She then slowly backed out of the room and redressed. Leaving the changing room she suddenly screamed.

Soun and Genma were both in the conference room conversing over old times when the doors were knocked off their hinges. Akane stormed in and ripped the huge solid four and a half ton marble table from the floor.

"I'll clobber him!" She shouted.

Kasumi came in followed by Nabiki, "Oh dear, what's the matter Akane?"

"There's a pervert in the bathtub!"

"How could someone have gotten past security?" Soun mused.

Nabiki moved to check the building access logs, "Why didn't you pound him into paste?"

Akane seemed to calm down a bit, "Well, I was scared."

There was a slight cough and everyone turned to see a boy almost six feet tall wearing a the blue tights and shirt with a red cape and the stylized 'S' on the chest. He filled it out a little better than Supergirl had, well in different areas at least.

"Um, I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

* * * * * * * * * *


End file.
